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The BIA advocates extensively in the UK, Europe and beyond to ensure that the interests of our members are represented to key policymakers, regulators and stakeholders. We also work collaboratively with other industry groups, charities and academia to present a unified message on shared issues, as well as the importance and strength of life sciences ecosystem in the UK.
Our policy work is guided and informed by input from our eight Advisory Committees, which are crucial mechanisms for highlighting the most relevant issues facing bioscience companies. Committee members include influential experts from across the sector.
For more information on our policy activity in specific areas you can use the navigation on the left-hand side of the screen.
You can find out more about the policy team below in the who’s who section.
Laura Collister
Eric Johnsson
Eric joined the BIA in March 2017. Previously he worked for the NHS in patient confidentiality and data protection. As a student, in Australia and Scotland, he held part-time positions in legal and parliamentary research.
Originally from Sweden, Eric holds a 1st Class Masters degree in International Economic Law from the University of Edinburgh and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Relations from Murdoch University in Australia.
In his spare time, Eric enjoys the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and travelling to warm and sunny locations.
Pamela Learmonth
Pamela is responsible for leading and coordinating the BIA’s work across the full range of policy, public affairs and communications activity. Pamela joined the BIA in August 2014, bringing with her over a decade of experience spanning public affairs, policy development, communications and regulatory work.
Prior to this she was CEO of the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), the UK’s leading advisory body on broadband issues. This role involved working across government, the sector regulator Ofcom and private sector sponsors including telecoms companies, broadcasters, technology vendors and internet companies to influence the policy debate surrounding broadband and the internet. The programme of work Pamela led at the BSG included engaging on EU wide regulation and its transposition to UK law, publishing world-leading reports on broadband deployment and technology capability and running a wider political programme to highlight issues of concern with UK and European political representatives.
Pamela was promoted to the role of CEO after 4 years in other policy and project management roles at the BSG. She started her career in political consultancy at AS Biss (now MHP Communications) and spent over 4 years there working with a range of clients in a number of sectors including healthcare, food and drink manufacturing, gambling, technology and financial services. Pamela has a First Class degree in Politics and Social Sciences from the University of Cambridge.
Rachael Mann
Rachael joined the BIA in December 2016 as Policy and Public Affairs Manager. She is responsible for BIA’s policy work on access to medicines, the use of animals in research and genomics and genome-editing. She also provides the secretariat for BIA’s Cell and Gene Therapy Advisory Committee.
Before joining the BIA, Rachael worked in policy and public affairs at the Royal Society and the Association of Medical Research Charities. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and a BA in History, both from the University of Bristol.
Martin Turner
Martin joined the BIA in April 2016 as Policy and Projects Manager. He is responsible for innovation policy and provides the secretariat for the BIA’s Tax and Finance Advisory Committee and the Intellectual Property Advisory Committee.