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The BIA will be running another popular networking lunch, hosted by Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst. This is a great opportunity to hear from local members, meet new business contacts and grab a bite to eat. We are excited to be showcasing members the Stevenage region.
We are pleased to announce that the Office for Life Sciences (OLS) will also be joining us for a special Brexit-focused session.
Agenda
12.00:Lunch and networking
13.00: Steve Bates, CEO, BIA
13.10: Sally Ann Forsyth, CEO, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst
13.20: Company presentations
Representatives from Freeline Therapeutics, LifeArc, and LifT Biosciences will join us to give short presentations on their work and recent developments.
14.00: Networking - tea, coffee, and biscuits provided
14.25: OLS Brexit preparedness workshop
The Office for Life Sciences (OLS) will be holding a workshop to help inform and update member companies prepare for EU Exit.
OLS will deliver presentations on the following areas: Introduction to the Office for Life Sciences; Regulations update; Continuity of Supply; Trader readiness; Workforce; and Q&A.
Steve Bates is the CEO of the UK Bioindustry Association, the UK’s Trade Association for innovative life science companies with over 550 members. Steve is the visible face of the vibrant UK life sciences industry to government and media. He serves on the UK Government’s Life Sciences Council and the UK Biosecurity Leadership Council. Steve was a founder member of the UK Government’s Vaccine Taskforce in the Covid crisis, sitting on its steering Board alongside Kate Bingham. He is active member and former chair the International Council of Biotech Associations and has been a board member of EuropaBio since 2015.
Previous experience & achievements
Steve has championed, with government, effective industrial incentives like the Biomedical Catalyst, which have crowded in private sector investment into UK SMEs. He is a driving force behind the scale up agenda, spearheading policy agenda to unlock UK pension fund capital into productive UK growth in life sciences. He has forged several links for the sector across the USA, Europe and in China. In his time at the BIA, Steve has developed new member groups focused on cell and gene therapy, genomics and engineered biology. A strong advocate of partnership working, Steve champions sector collaboration with research charities and academia. Proud to lead an organisation with a diverse Board with over 40% female representation, Steve is committed to next generation talent and developing the skills needed for the sector to flourish. Before joining the BIA in 2012, Steve worked for Genzyme and was advisor to the UK Government of Tony Blair working on NHS reform and the Northern Ireland peace process. He was made OBE for services to innovation in 2017 and became a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Science in 2020.
Sally Ann has been responsible for the strategy, growth and development of 4 internationally recognised science parks including Harwell Oxford (STFC), Colworth Science Park (Unilever), Norwich Research Park (BBSRC) and most recently Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (GSK/Wellcome). She began her career with Unilever as part of the management training scheme and later had lead responsibility for In-Licensing, Strategic Alliances and Open Innovation within the Unilever Foods and Discovery divisions. Being part of the founding team of Unilever Ventures and Unilever Technology Ventures gave Sally Ann an insight into the needs of growing companies. She gained her property experience through Goodman International where she was Director of Science Parks responsible for the development and management of their UK portfolio.
Sally Ann is passionate about the translation of UK science into world leading innovations and the creation of supportive environments to help early stage companies grow. She has a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Cambridge and is a qualified management accountant (CGMA).
Vice President, Business Operations, Freeline Therapeutics
Jane Whitrow
Vice President, Business Operations, Freeline Therapeutics
Jane is a Chartered Accountant who brings specialist experience of working with small and medium-sized technology businesses.
She joined Freeline after seven years at IXICO, where she was responsible for fundraising, forecasting, financial reporting, investor relations, HR, IT, legal, facilities, Quality and Company Secretarial. Here she was part of the management team that acquired Phytopharm, and the subsequent listing on the AIM market. Before that, she worked for a variety of high-tech and start-up companies, including Cambridge Biostability, Novacta Biosystems and BioSyntha.
Jane also spent five years at the biotech venture capitalist Merlin Ventures (latterly Merlin BioSciences), becoming Finance Director. She trained as an accountant with KPMG focusing on small and medium-sized technology businesses. Jane has a BSc from the University of Manchester and a PhD in Plant Genetics from the University of Birmingham
Justin Bryans is currently Chief Scientific Officer (Early Discovery) for Charles River Laboratories. He trained as a chemist at the universities of York and Oxford, the latter being as a post-doc under Professor Sir Jack Baldwin. Since then, he has gained over 30 years of experience in drug discovery at a number of biotechnology, pharma, and not-for-profit companies, including Parke-Davis, Pfizer, LifeArc, and now Charles River Laboratories. He has led integrated dug discovery teams developing new potential small molecule and antibody-based treatments for a wide range of conditions, resulting in the discovery of over 30 assets, and is cited as an inventor on over 50 patents. He holds an honorary professorship at Queen Mary University of London and teaches various aspects of drug discovery at QMUL, University College London, and the Wellcome Trust. He also sits on a range of advisory committees and panels and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
QC & Process Development Engineer, LIfT BioSciences
Harry Kwong
QC & Process Development Engineer, LIfT BioSciences
Harry joined LIfT BioSciences in 2019 where he is responsible for the manufacturing strategies that support the early stage development and production of the company’s product, N-LIfT. His areas of focus include process development and optimisation as well as scale up and tech transfer with a vision of delivering N-LIfT to the market. Harry received a BSc in Biochemistry from Imperial College London and completed a master’s in Biochemical Engineering at UCL.
LIfT Biosciences is a Biotech bringing to market a 1st in class allogeneic innate cell therapy called Neutrophil Only Leukocyte Infusion Therapy (N-LIfT). N-LIfT has the game-changing potential to destroy all solid tumours irrespective of mutation or strain. N-LIfT uses a special type of N1a neutrophil with superior cancer killing and immune recruitment capabilities. Our vision is to develop the world’s first cell bank of mass produced ‘cancer killing neutrophils’ to deliver a portfolio of immuno-oncology cell therapies for delivering complete remission in all solid tumours, with an initial focus on high unmet need orphan tumours such as those found in the lung, liver and pancreas.