LimestoneGrey’s Managing Director, Matthew Jones, will be attending Climb26 in Leeds, speaking as part of ClimbHealth, the life sciences and health innovation programme within the UK’s Festival of Business Growth and Innovation.
Update, July 2026: the panel has now taken place. Read Matthew’s reflections from Climb26.
Climb26 brings together founders, investors, academics, industry leaders and specialist support organisations to examine the opportunities and challenges facing high-growth businesses. For companies working at the forefront of innovation, it provides a platform to share ideas, build relationships and highlight the strength of the UK’s innovation ecosystem.
Discussing the journey from research to commercial success
Matthew will be taking part in the panel discussion “From Brilliant Science to Big Business”, on the journey from scientific discovery through to commercial success. The panel takes place on Wednesday 1 July, 12pm, on the ClimbHealth stage, chaired by Geoff Davison, CEO of Bionow.
He will be joined by Chris Allen, CEO and Co-Founder at Broughton Group, Professor Helen Philippou, CEO at ClotProtect Therapeutics, Karen Davies, Head of Strategic Relationships at Equans Sci-Tech, and Paul Thorning, CEO at CrystecPharma, each bringing a different perspective on what it takes to turn innovative science into a successful, sustainable business.
For many companies in life sciences, medtech and wider deep tech, developing innovative technology is only one part of the challenge. Taking that technology to commercialisation often requires investment, the right partnerships, regulatory understanding, governance and clear strategic planning. Events such as Climb26 give founders the chance to hear directly from people who have supported companies through those stages.
Why should R&D tax relief be part of the conversation?
Matthew’s contribution will focus on funding, the role R&D tax relief can play in supporting innovative businesses, and why it pays to build the right processes around it from an early stage.
R&D tax credits remain a significant source of non-dilutive income for innovative companies. But the rules have changed substantially in recent years: increased HMRC scrutiny, additional reporting requirements and a greater emphasis on contemporaneous evidence mean businesses can no longer treat the relief as a year-end exercise.
Companies benefit from embedding good practice from the outset: systems for tracking qualifying activities, documenting technological uncertainties and capturing project spend throughout the year. Done well, this strengthens future claims, reduces the administrative burden and keeps companies compliant as they scale; our article on preparing a claim that withstands scrutiny covers the same ground in detail. It matters most in life sciences and deep tech, where projects span years, teams cross disciplines and investment runs far ahead of commercial outcomes.
The value of collaboration
The strength of UK innovation lies in more than the quality of its science and technology. It also rests on the network of organisations working together to support ambitious companies as they grow. Bringing industry, academia, investors and specialist advisers together creates opportunities that are hard to replicate in isolation.
Thank you to Bionow for inviting LimestoneGrey to be part of the panel. Matthew Jones commented: “Turning brilliant science into a successful business takes more than technical excellence alone. It requires the right support, the right partnerships and access to funding that allows companies to keep investing in innovation. R&D tax relief can play an important role in that journey, but only when businesses approach it with the right processes, evidence and understanding from the outset. I’m really looking forward to joining the panel at Climb26 and contributing to this important discussion.”
If you were at Climb26 and would like to continue the conversation, get in touch.
Written by Lisa James. Last reviewed July 2026.
This article describes the rules as they stood at the review date above. The rules change: for the current position, start with our guides or talk to us.
