BIA regional focus: cell & gene therapies at Stevenage

Steve Bates OBE

Chief Executive Officer

What does your role at BIA involve?

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.

Dr Sally Ann Forsyth

Chief Executive Officer, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst

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).

Oliver Hardick

Entrepreneur In Residence, M Ventures

Oliver is seeking re-election to the BIA Board for a second term to continue supporting the BIA in securing the UK's position as a global hub in life sciences, by supporting company inception, scaling and value creation, built on the backbone of leading innovative research & development. In 2013 Oliver founded Puridify, a biotech tools company, based at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst. In 2017, after leading the company through two rounds of venture capital funding, rapid growth, and preparing for product commercialisation, it was acquired GE Healthcare (now Cytiva). The disruptive purification technology platform was based on Oliver’s doctoral research at UCL in the department of Biochemical Engineering, where he remains as an honorary lecturer and regards industry-academia links as critical for the development of our industry. Oliver has been fortunate to participate in the BIA’s manufacturing advisory committee for 8 years, seeing that community grow and provide a pivotal contribution to the BIA’s mission. While continuing to support MAC he has also been fortunate to Co-Chair the BIA Skill Working Party which has a crucial role to play in supporting the BIA through membership engagement & strategic initiative planning, to ensure we are able to find, train and support the people that will be required to deliver the growth vision for the UK’s life science sector.

Dr Adam Hacker

SVP, Regulatory Affairs, Autolus

Adam Hacker has over 20 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He joined Autolus in August 2018, as Senior Vice President, with global Regulatory and Quality responsibilities for Autolus’ CAT T portfolio and is both a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Development Committee. Prior to joining Autolus, Adam spent ten years at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, where he most recently served as VP and Regulatory Head of Vaccines and Scientific Innovation Projects. During his tenure he also led haematology and oncology therapeutic areas for regulatory and medical affairs functions. Adam earned a PhD in developmental molecular biology from the National Institute of Medical Research, London and holds an undergraduate Biology degree from Oxford University.

John Lunger

Chief Patient Supply Officer, Adaptimmune

John Lunger has served as Adaptimmune’s Chief Patient Supply Officer since August 2019 and leads the teams responsible for producing and delivering products to patients, accelerating supply execution, and optimizing the supply chain to be ready for commercialization. Prior to this, he was Senior Vice President, Manufacturing and Supply Chain at Adaptimmune, responsible for clinical manufacturing and global supply of Adaptimmune’s autologous T-cell therapy products, having joined the company in March 2017. Previously, John was Head of Supply Chain and Commercial Product Supply at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals where he led clinical and commercial supply chain as well as the cross functional supply team for Merrimack’s first commercial product. Earlier in his career, he held various senior manufacturing, operational, and strategy roles with VWR International, Pfizer, and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. In his nearly 10 years with Wyeth he held a number of leadership positions, including operations and supply chain strategy, supply management, procurement and strategic sourcing, business systems implementation, generic pharmaceutical business management, and site operations management in a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Ireland. John began his career serving as a nuclear trained officer on a US Navy submarine followed by strategic consulting with Accenture.

Natalia Misciattelli

Senior VP, Strategy and Business Operations, Freeline Therapeutics

Natalia offers broad strategic and operating model experience with top-tier multinational pharmaceutical companies. Before joining Freeline, Natalia worked for over 20 years in the life sciences sector, most recently as a partner at PA Consulting running strategy and transformation programmes for life sciences clients globally. She has broad strategic experience, spanning corporate strategies, pipeline and product strategies, and compound and technology strategies for top-tier multinational pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Novartis, and Johnson & Johnson. She has designed and set up new operating models for organisations, often underpinned by new partnership models and sourcing. Previously, she was in Corporate Development & Strategy at General Electric (GE) Healthcare, starting her career at Arthur Andersen in London, UK. She holds a BSc and a PhD in Marine Microbiology from Bangor University, University of Wales, UK.