Steve Bagshaw (FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies) and the BIA COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturing Taskforce recognised at bioProcessUK conference

Steve Bagshaw, Chairman of FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies and the BIA COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing taskforce,  were awarded the prestigious Peter Dunnill award and Richard Wilson impact award respectively, at the UK BioIndustry Association’s (BIA) 17th bioProcessUK conference, which was held virtually on the 01 and 02 December.

The pair have been recognised for their work and contributions to the bioprocessing and biologics manufacturing sector. The Peter Dunhill award was established following the death of Professor Peter Dunnill to mark his lifetime contribution to bioprocessing, and the Richard Wilson Impact Award acknowledges those who are making a significant impact in the bioprocessing sector.

Steve Bates OBE, Chief Executive of the BIA said: “Steve Bagshaw has been a champion and flagbearer of the UK bioprocessing and manufacturing community over many years. Steve’s enthusiasm, tireless commitment to the industry and unflappable demeanour in all circumstances, has engendered trust and respect across all levels of the UK life sciences sector. Through Steve’s leadership, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies have been able to expand their operation in the North East and has resulted in the company being a key fixture of the vibrant and world leading UK bioprocessing sector we have today.

Steve Bagshaw, Chairman of FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies said: “I am very humbled by this award.  I feel that I have been a part of a large multi-functional team for the past fifteen years and it has very much been a team performance.  I dedicate this award to the very many people whom I have had the privilege to call colleagues and partners at Fujifilm Diosynth, its predecessor companies and across the industry.  We have built together on the successes of previous generations, who led the way in establishing biotechnology as a potential means to meet the needs of society and today we find ourselves at the centre of attention as vaccines, therapeutics and advanced therapies, are talked about across the world.  Alongside this we continue to work on tomorrow’s bio-solutions to net zero – food, fuel, materials and chemicals to ensure a sustainable and greener planet.  It is an industry that will continue to be fundamental to all of our futures and I am honoured to have played a part in the team.”  

Commenting on the work of the BIA COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturing Taskforce, Steve Bates added: “The work of the BIA COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturing Taskforce has been a key support to the vaccine development undertaken by Oxford University and Imperial College London. The group worked day and night, contributing significant resource and expertise, to assess UK supply chains and to understand, what was required to scale and rapidly deploy their vaccines. Their work has been fundamental in putting the UK in the strong position to deploy the AstraZeneca vaccine.”

Ian McCubbin OBE, Chairman of Roslin CT said: “I’m incredibly proud of the tremendous efforts by all the companies and organisations involved in our taskforce and I know they will continue to work incredibly hard to ensure we can get COVID-19 vaccines to patients. There is no doubt that the BIA Taskforce created the momentum to form the UK based supply chains for the Oxford University & AstraZeneca vaccine and the Imperial RNA vaccine, which accelerated the development and scale up of the AstraZeneca vaccine in particular.”

Ends

Notes to editors

1. The awards were presented at the bioProcessUK conference on 01 December.

2. Steve Bagshaw is non-executive Chairman of Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies – one of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organisations.  He was CEO from 2014 to 2020 and prior to that the UK President and Managing Director for seven years.

He is a non-executive director at the Centre for Process Innovation – a leading technology and innovation centre and founding member of the UK government’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult. He serves on the board as a non-executive director at Arcinova – a fast growing pharmaceutical and biotech contract manufacturing and development company based in Northumberland.  Since April 2020 he has been supporting the Government’s Vaccine Task Force as an Industrial Advisor. 

He is Chair of the UK Industrial Biotechnology Forum – bringing together government, industry, academia, and the funding agencies as a community - focusing on investment and growth.  He is Co-Chair of the UK Bioeconomy Governance Group which is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the UK’s bioeconomy strategy, launched in 2018.  He chairs the Industrial Advisory Board at the National Horizons Centre in Darlington.

He is a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers having graduated as a chemical engineer from UMIST (Manchester) and was recognised by his peers as North East England Business Executive of the Year in 2017.  

3. For more on the history of the BIA Manufacturing COVID-19 Taskforce please follow this link.