COVID-19 update: business finance support

Dr Ian Campbell

Interim Executive Chair, Innovate UK

Ian is the Interim Executive Chair for Innovate UK. Previously he was Director - Ageing Society, Health & Nutrition and Director - Health and Life Sciences, a role he took up in October 2016. Ian has extensive entrepreneurial and business experience in the healthcare sector. Prior to Innovate UK, Ian was CEO of Arquer Diagnostics, which focuses on bladder and prostate cancer diagnosis. Before this, Ian spent 15 years in a variety of executive management roles within the health and life science sector. The Executive Chair of Innovate UK is the operational head of the organisation, as it continues its leading role in driving the UK’s technology and innovation strategy. Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government.

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 Martin Turner

Associate Director, Policy, Public Affairs & Investor Relations

What does your role at BIA involve?
Martin is responsible for all the BIA's policy outputs and public affairs activities and leads on finance and tax policy as well as the BIA’s engagement with the investment community. He authors the BIA’s investment analysis reports and is a regular commentator on the life sciences sector in the national press. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Cambridge University Science Policy Exchange (CUSPE).

Previous experience & achievements
Martin has over ten years experience in policy and public affairs and has worked at the Royal Society, the Campaign for Science and Engineering, and the Association of Medical Research Charities. Before embarking on a career in policy, he completed a PhD in molecular biology at the University of Sheffield, where he also co-founded and was director of an award-winning science communication charity called Science Brainwaves. He has a BSc in molecular biology from the University of Manchester.