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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 nine 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.
Dr Christiane Abouzeid
Christiane has been with the BIA since May 2004. She is a lawyer responsible for regulatory issues concerning the research and development of novel technology products and has been involved in influencing legislative and policy developments affecting the life sciences industry in the EU.
Christiane is the Clinical Trials Topic Leader for EuropaBio, the European Association for Bioindustries.
Previously, Christiane was part of the Biosciences Group at Eversheds, joining shortly after qualification at Llewellyn Zeitman (now Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP). She worked at the European Commission for one year.
Prior to her legal career, Christiane was a research scientist at University College London and Imperial College School of Medicine for over 12 years. She holds a PhD in microbiology and biochemistry from the University of Louvain (Belgium).
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.
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.
Peter Wasson
Peter joined the BIA in March 2019 and has nine years’ experience working in health policy and public affairs.
Prior to joining the BIA, Peter was an Account Director at WA Communications and has also worked for two other large agencies in their health teams, working closely with clients to plan and implement end-to-end communications activity and achieve tangible policy change. He was Senior Policy and Campaigns Adviser at the Royal College of Physicians where he helped transform the way the organisation campaigns and engages with stakeholders. He has also worked for the Patients Association in its policy and campaigns team. He began his career working in Parliament for Charles Kennedy, the late former leader of the Liberal Democrats, and Lord Dholakia, a Liberal Democrat peer.
Peter is originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and has a strong interest Northern Irish politics. He has a degree in Law from the University of Cambridge.
Outside work, he can often be found at Chelmsford Cathedral where he sings with the cathedral choir, watching the rugby at his local, or in the kitchen cooking.