Medical Oncologist Professor Tim Eisen Joins Panel of THE ASTELLAS INNOVATION DEBATE 2013
CHERTSEY, England, November 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
The Age Crunch - facts, fears and the future
Chaired by Lord Robert Winston
Royal Institution of Great Britain, Tuesday 19th November 2013, 7pm
To be webcast live: http://www.innovationdebate.com
One of the UK's leading medical oncologists Professor Tim Eisen will be joining a panel of internationally recognised experts for the 2nd Astellas Innovation Debate: The Age Crunch - facts, fears and the future, taking place on 19th November at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. Following the success of the inaugural Astellas Innovation Debate, staged at the Royal Society in November last year and focusing on how to nurture the scientific innovators of the future, this year's debate moves the spotlight from young scientists to the ageing population - an issue of decisive and urgent importance.
Watch the video Professor Tim Eisen talking about the impact of cancer on an ageing society http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpIOJ3-bFl8
Professor Tim Eisen, Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Cambridge and Director of the Cambridge Cancer Trials Centre, commented:
"The fact that cancer cases are increasing, so that by 2025 someone's lifetime risk of having had cancer will be almost double what it was in 1975, may seem alarming. But it actually reflects the tremendous success of medicine. For the first time in history people are living long enough to develop a disease which is strongly related to old age, whereas in the past we would have died of something else first - perhaps a heart attack. So the question now is how we should best help these people overcome cancer. There are some really promising approaches on the horizon, and our ability to diagnose cancer early on is getting better and better. So for me there is another revolution on its way."
Alongside Professor Eisen, whose research interests focus on developing new treatments for advanced diseases, will be Professor John Appleby, Chief Economist at the King's Fund; broadcaster and journalist Baroness Joan Bakewell; Nobel laureate Dr. Elizabth H. Blackburn, Morris Herzstein Professor in Biology and Physiology in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco; campaigner and politician Baroness Sally Greengross and Professor Tom Kirkwood, Dean for Ageing at the University of Newcastle.
Chaired by Lord Robert Winston, Professor of Science and Society and Emeritus Professor of Fertility Studies at Imperial College London, The Astellas Innovation Debate 2013 will explore the role of innovation as society faces critical challenges resulting from an ageing population. The central issues under discussion will be:
- How best can we support older people in the UK and Europe?
- How can we rethink our approach to welfare and healthcare to tackle the major age-associated diseases?
- How will an ageing society be funded and whose responsibility should it be?
- How can innovation help society to value older people and to help older people make an active contribution?
The aim of the Astellas Innovation Debate 2013 will be to explore, through thought-provoking discussion, whether the scientific ingenuity that played a key role in creating an ageing society can now provide innovative solutions to drive economic and social transformation - turning old age into a new age.
For further information, visit our website http://www.innovationdebate.com, or join the debate on Twitter @innovatedebate #AgeCrunch
Notes to editors
The Astellas Innovation Debate is to be chaired by Lord Robert Winston, Professor of Science and Society and Emeritus Professor of Fertility Studies at Imperial College London.
Confirmed panellists include:
Professor John Appleby Chief Economist at the King's Fund since 1998 and a visiting professor at the Department of Economics at City University, London
Dr Elizabeth Blackburn Morris Herzstein Professor in Biology and Physiology in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine in 2009 and a leader in the area of telomere and telomerase research.
Baroness Joan Bakewell Broadcaster and journalist Joan Bakewell presents Radio 3's Belief and Radio 4's Inside the Ethics Committee. She was the government appointed 'Voice of Older People' between 2008 and 2010 and in November 2010 she was made a working peer in the House of Lords.
Baroness Sally Greengross A crossbench (independent) member of the House of Lords since 2000 and chair of five All-Party Parliamentary Groups, Chief Executive of the International Longevity Centre (ILC) - UK; Co-President of the ILC Global Alliance.
Professor Tom Kirkwood Dean for Ageing & Director of Newcastle Initiative on Changing Age (NICA) at the University of Newcastle.
Professor Tim Eisen Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Cambridge and Director of the Cambridge Cancer Trials Centre
About The Astellas Innovation Debate
The Astellas Innovation Debate, organised and funded by Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd., explores the role of innovation in modern society.
This year's event, The Age Crunch: Facts fears and the future, at the Royal Institution of Great Britain on 19th November 2013, is bringing together influential and respected figures from the worlds of science, government, medicine, economics, industry and the media as they tackle the major issues surrounding scientific innovation today and tomorrow. The aim of The Innovation Debate is to air crucial issues, draw positive conclusions and to move the agenda forward.
Everyone - professionals in science, medicine and industry, and the general public - will have the opportunity to engage with The Astellas Innovation Debate through online media which will take discussions far beyond the walls of the Royal Institution of Great Britain.
The inaugural Innovation Debate at The Royal Society in London in November 2012 focused on innovation in a time of austerity and nurturing the innovators of the future. Under the chairmanship of Professor Jim Al-Khalili it brought together panellists such as Nobel laureate Professor Sir Andre Geim, physicist Professor Brian Cox and Professor Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in Economics at the University of Sussex.
About Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd.
Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd., located in the UK, is the European headquarters of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc. Astellas is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceuticals. The organisation's focus is to deliver outstanding R&D and marketing to continue growing in the world pharmaceutical market. Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd. is responsible for 21 affiliate offices located across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, an R&D site and three manufacturing plants. The company employs approximately 4,350 staff across these regions. For more information about Astellas Pharma Europe, please visit http://www.astellas.eu.
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