BIA regional focus: Oxford

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.

David Llewellyn

Managing Director and Co-Founder, DJS Antibodies

David is the Managing Director and co-founder of DJS Antibodies and led the company from initiation through to its acquisition by AbbVie in 2022. He loves discovery, and so is motivated by the pursuit of developing totally novel therapeutics. David has more than 10 years’ experience in evolutionary immunology, antibody characterisation and myeloid cell biology, and he leads the team in our pursuit to create world changing antibody therapeutics. Having originally come from the sunny shores of Australia, David came to the UK to complete a PhD at the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute supported by a Rhodes Scholarship. While studying he co-founded and led the Good Lad Initiative, an organisation promoting positive masculinity and gender equality amongst groups of young men. David remains committed to promoting values of equality and diversity throughout DJS and more broadly. In a past life, David was a competitive kayaker, most often found halfway down a waterfall, though now is more likely to be found watching water fall onto his struggling vegetable garden.

Lynne Murray

CSO, MiroBio

Dr. Murray has served as Chief Scientific Officer for MiroBio since March 2022, having previously served as Senior Vice President of Research since joining in October 2020. Dr. Murray brings substantial experience in the discovery and development of pharmaceuticals from preclinical to Phase 2 in both large pharmaceutical and small biotech environments. Prior to joining MiroBio she served as Head of Regeneration at AstraZeneca’s early respiratory & immunology department. Over her tenure, she led multiple large and small molecule programs and gained significant business development experience in the partnering & strategy department at AZ. Before this, she was Director of Pharmacology at a U.S.-based biotech, Promedior and also held a research position at Janssen, Philadelphia after her postdoc at UCLA. Dr. Murray received her MBA from Judge Business School of the University of Cambridge and holds a Ph.D. in immunology and pathology from Imperial College London. She is an author of numerous publications and patents.

Chris Walters

Head of UK Life Sciences, JLL

Chris leads the Life Science business at JLL that focuses on the science, technology and innovation sector. Through experience working with NHS Trusts; academic and research institutions; local authorities; and a diverse set of private sector clients covering private equity, institutional capital and sovereign wealth; Chris is recognised as an industry-leading expert on both the UK and European markets. Chris’s responsibilities are focused on providing strategic recommendations on a range of development and investment opportunities comprising development consultancy, appraisals and transactional advice. In addition, he works closely with all aspects of the occupier business to find tailored solutions to their needs across the full spectrum of the science and technology industry.

Katya Smirnyagina

Senior Partner, Oxford Science Enterprises

Katya joined Oxford Science Enterprises in September 2021, an experienced venture capitalist with over 20 years’ experience in the biotechnology industry. At OSE, Katya leads the Life Sciences team, overseeing investments, the creation of new companies and the scale up of existing businesses, providing hands-on guidance and support to academic founders from early scientific-development to go-to-market strategies. Katya started her VC career in 2002 with Alta Partners, a healthcare focused USA fund, followed by Capricorn Partners in Belgium. She has been a director of a number of public and private companies in Europe and is the past Vice-Chair of InvestEurope. She has a global network across the Life Sciences, finance, and healthcare industries. Katya holds a PhD in Cellular & Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, followed by a post-doc in Microbiology & Immunology from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Adrian Hill

Head of HealthTec Development, UKRI-STFC

Adrian is the lead for Health Tech Development at UKRI-STFC. Working alongside joint venture partners at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus he is tasked with enhancing the health and life sciences ecosystem through strategic business support, partnership and investment. Adrian actively supports members of the Health Tech Cluster, comprising a community of Medtech and Biopharmaceutical industry, academia, investors, Government agencies and National Facilities, to ensure Harwell is well positioned for growth in targeted business sectors, including advanced medicines, imaging and diagnostics, to strengthen the local economy. Adrian has over 20 years of drug discovery, biotechnology and commercialisation experience gained from private and public sector organisations, including SMEs, CROs, two Russell Group Universities and Civil Service. He has spent the last 10 years as a Senior Executive supporting start-ups and creating partnerships and impact at the interface of academia, industry, government and NHS, and has previously managed a variety of global R&D and business development teams.

Emma Thorp

Co-Founder of The Diverse Directors Programme (DDP) and NED for RBW Consulting

Emma Thorp is the Co-Founder of The Diverse Directors Programme (DDP) and serves as a Non-Executive Director (NED) for RBW Consulting. Though she describes her current status as on unsuccessful sabbatical. With an entrepreneurial spirit and a penchant for innovative thinking, Emma has experience and connections within the UK, Europe, and the United States. With nearly two decades of experience in growth consulting and executive search, she specializes in helping clients build people strategies that attract and retain high-performing teams that meet commercial objectives. Emma's dedication to purpose-driven initiatives is evident in her proactive approach to turning discussions into actionable change. This commitment to making a difference is exemplified by her pivotal role in launching DDP, which underscores her passion for driving progress and fostering diversity within leadership.