Business environment
The BIA influences key areas of the business environment critical to the success of our members.
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Influencing policy
As the voice of the innovative life sciences and biotech industry, we influence government policy, the regulatory environment and the broader ecosystem to make the UK the best place for businesses to start, grow and deliver world-changing innovation.
We have strong links with the government and its agencies, and represent our members on numerous government-industry fora, including:
- The Life Sciences Council
- The Life Sciences Council Data Subgroup
- The National Genomics Board
- The Responsible Innovation Advisory Panel
- The Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership (MMIP)
- The Life Sciences Trade Advisory Group
We provide a voice for the industry in Parliament by providing the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Life Sciences, alongside the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC). Our annual Parliament Day also provides a unique opportunity for our member companies to meet with MPs and peers to discuss the key policy issues facing the sector.
We also work collaboratively with other industry groups, charities and academia to present a unified message on shared issues.
Explore our policy priorities in the following areas:
Medicines
The BIA influences policy and regulation critical to our members’ ability to develop, manufacture and deliver innovative medicines and vaccines to patients in the NHS and around the world.
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Critical technologies
The BIA identifies and advocates for critical technologies that will change the world and in which the UK has a competitive advantage. Advances across biology, technology, engineering and data science are converging to help create new, potentially life-changing solutions for individuals and societies across the globe.
View moreRead about our latest work to influence policy
Meet our Policy and Public Affairs Team
Maddy Anderson
What does your role at BIA involve?
I support BIA’s public affairs work, helping to manage the Life Sciences APPG, organise our presence at party conferences, and track political developments. I contribute to genomics policy through the Data, AI and Genomics Advisory Committee and help communicate our policy work to members and key stakeholders.
Previous experience and achievements
Maddy joined from OVID Health, where she worked across communications, public affairs and patient advocacy projects for clients in pharma, medtech and healthtech. She holds an interdisciplinary degree in Arts and Sciences from UCL, where she conducted qualitative research on the implementation of the NHS genomic medicine service.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?
If I could invite anyone to dinner, it would be Demis Hassabis. His work at DeepMind on protein folding through AlphaFold has already transformed structural biology, and I’d love to hear his take on what AI could unlock next in drug discovery and genomics.
Dr Martin Turner
What does your role at BIA involve?
Martin leads the BIA's policy and public affairs team, overseeing all of the BIA's policy development work, Advisory Committees and engagement with government and other stakeholders. He also supports the BIA Chair, Dan Mahony, in his role as the Government's Life Sciences Investment Envoy and leads BIA's investor relations. He is chief editor of BIA's finance reports and a regular commentator on the life sciences sector in the national media.
Previous experience & achievements
Outside BIA, Martin serves on the Advisory Board of the Cambridge University Science Policy Exchange (CUSPE). He has over fifteen 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. He holds a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Sheffield.
Dr Emma Lawrence
What does your role at BIA involve?
Emma leads BIA's genomics, digital, data and artificial intelligence (AI) policy areas. She engages with members who work in these fields to understand their policy needs. Emma provides the secretariat for BIA's Genomics Advisory Committee (GAC) and looks after the TechBio community as part of this. Emma also leads BIA's influence agenda for these areas, engaging with civil servants and other senior stakeholders.
Previous experience
Prior to joining the BIA, Emma worked at the cross-party think tank Policy Connect on a Cell and Gene Therapy Parliamentary engagement programme. She has previously worked in the biomedical research sector understanding the barriers to accessing human samples and data for research. This included leading engagement at the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (UCL) and the Immunotherapy Trial Simulation Project (Imperial College London). Emma has a PhD in Immunology from the University of Manchester.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?
Ada Lovelace, the godmother of computer programming because she was the first to recognise that a machine would have uses beyond calculations. We’d chat about maths and 19th-century gossip over cocktails.
Rosie Lindup
What does your role at BIA involve?
Rosie leads the BIA’s policy work on access to medicines, rare diseases, cell and gene therapies and antimicrobial resistance. This involves providing the secretariat for the BIA’s Cell and Gene Therapy Advisory Committee (CGTAC) and Rare Disease Industry Group (RDIG). She is also responsible for organising the BIA’s annual Parliament Day, which brings CEOs and senior representatives from BIA member companies to Westminster to meet with politicians and policymakers.
Previous experience
Previously, Rosie worked as a Senior Research Consultant at a Westminster-based public affairs agency, where she supported clients from a range of sectors, including pharmaceuticals, technology and financial services. Prior to that, Rosie worked as a Management Consultant at KPMG, where she assisted on financial and regulatory projects with large corporate clients. She has a BA in Human, Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge.
Lewis Miles
What does your role at BIA involve?
Lewis leads the BIA’s policy work on finance and tax, which involves campaigning to increase investment in the UK’s life science industry. He engages with members across the sector to understand their policy needs. Lewis also provides the secretariat for the BIA’s Finance and Tax Advisory Committee (FTAC).
Previous experience & achievements
Previously, Lewis has held a number of roles related to policy within the STEM sector. These have included work at the Royal Society of Chemistry, where he led on policy areas including research culture, diversity and inclusion, and funding; as well as supporting the passage of the Environment Act 2021 through Parliament at DEFRA. In addition, he has worked as a Project Officer at the Royal Society, managing projects to make the landscape of STEM in the UK more inclusive and diverse. Lewis has a MSc in Natural Sciences from the University of Birmingham, where he majored in Biology and Physics.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?
So many to choose from, but I think it would have to be Jane Goodall. With a lifetime’s experience working with chimpanzees, I doubt I’d ever run out of things to ask, with the added bonus of not having to worry too much about table manners – I’m sure she’s seen worse. Plus, I hear she loves a glass of whiskey every night.
Linda Bedenik
What does your role at BIA involve?
Linda leads on intellectual property (IP), engineering biology (EngBio), R&D and innovation policy and animal research. She provides the secretariat to BIA's two advisory committees - Intellectual Property (IPAC) and Engineering Biology (EBAC) as well as the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Life Sciences.
Previous experience & achievements
Prior to joining BIA, Linda worked as a Policy Analyst at a non-profit looking into university-business collaboration and knowledge exchange in the UK and as a researcher at a public policy-focused think tank identifying challenges to state-level public service delivery and rural health in India. Linda has an MA in Global Political Economy from the University of Sussex.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?
Santos-Dumont and the Wright Brothers – to have them settle the debate over who flew first.
Emily Klein
What does your role at BIA involve?
I support the BIAs policy work on access to medicines, which involves campaigning to improve NHS uptake of medicines as well as addressing issues surrounding access to medicines and reimbursement. My role supports the BIA’s Rare Disease Industry Group (RDIG), including engaging with key stakeholders and supporting the delivery of projects and activities carried out by RDIG.
Previous experience & achievements
I joined the BIA in September 2023 having previously worked as a Programme Executive at a London based public sector events organisation. This role involved conducting public sector research and applying these insights and analysis to create innovative and commercially attractive event agendas that provide comprehensive solutions to key challenges across a range of UK policy areas. I also have a degree in Politics and International Relations.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?
I would invite Thomas Edison, an innovative American inventor and businessman, on what I imagine would be a very fascinating discussion on his incredibly influential contributions to inventions and its impact on modern life.
Maddie Cass
What does your role at BIA involve?
I work on supporting the BIA's expansion into the deep biotech space. Deep biotech is the use of biotechnology to address some of the world's most pressing challenges, particularly the climate crisis. As a part of this I support the Engineering Biology Advisory Committee.
Previous experience & achievements
After studying genetics at Glasgow University, I gained international experience by living and working in Taiwan during the pandemic. In my previous job I provided policy advice on the education sector to head teachers and school governors.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?
I would invite the remarkable cytogeneticist, Barbra McClintock to dinner. Her pioneering work in genetics and her ability to challenge existing paradigms in the field have always been a source of inspiration.
Abby Clark
What does your role at BIA involve?
Abby leads BIA’s manufacturing policy work and supports the Manufacturing Advisory Committee. She represents BIA on the Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership (MMIP) and is secretariate for the High Potential Modalities MMIP workstream. Abby collaborates with the bioprocessing sector with a focus on complex medicines and sustainability within medicine manufacturing.
Previous experience and achievements
Abby began her career at CPI, where she successfully completed a Degree Level Apprenticeship in Biotechnology. She then advanced to the role of Downstream Scientist, specialising in RNA process development, automation, and continuous processing. Passionate about advancing the sector, Abby also volunteers her time as ATMP Manufacturing Community (AMC) Director, contributing to the advanced therapies sector and gaining valuable cross-modality insights.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?
I’d love to have dinner with Rosalind Franklin, a brilliant scientist whose pivotal work on X-ray crystallography was instrumental in uncovering the structure of DNA. Her contributions, overshadowed by sexism, denied her the recognition shared by Crick and Watson. We would talk about the challenges she faced to provide insights into her resilience, intellect, and the untold stories of women in science that continue to shape our sector (and the Watson Crick Franklin model).