CEO blog - 22 September 2025

This is my final CEO update in Newscast after 13 years at the BIA. I take up my new role as Executive Chair of the Office for Life Sciences next Monday.

Before I do, I want to thank you - my loyal readers - for engaging with my musings over the years, and for your feedback that has improved this blog and my thinking.

Steve Bates OBE
CEO, BIA

In my interview for the CEO of the BIA role a generation ago, I said that a successful trade association should seek to be legitimate, effective, progressive and sustainable, and I believe by living these values we’ve become a really successful community making a real impact. When I took this role in 2012, I did not foresee that I would be here for 13 years, through Brexit and a pandemic, to see mRNA vaccines delivered and cell and gene therapies routinely reimbursed on the NHS.  I am deeply proud of the culture, capability and achievements of the Association and its members in the time I have had the privilege to serve. The collaborative, can-do and positive outlook of the team has led the sector through some difficult moments.

Although Brexit left an enduring scar on our ecosystem, it delivered a collective unity that ensured we met the COVID pandemic united, networked and capable. It was the privilege of my professional life to be able to play a small part in the development and delivery of the leadership of the UK Vaccine Taskforce, which showcased our ecosystem at its finest and helped save millions of lives worldwide. I read in the New Scientist last week that they have estimated that the global health and economic benefits of COVID-19 vaccines came to between $5 and $38 trillion in their first year, showing an incredible return on investment.

Crisis moments like the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and its recovery into HSBC over a weekend feature prominently in my memory. Campaigns to support R&D tax credits, Innovate UK, the UK’s science budget and our partnerships with AMRC charities are enduring legacies.

This role has enabled me to learn from so many dynamic and inspirational figures, mostly from our excellent Women in Biotech network. I leave the Association three times the size in membership and staffing, with a solid strategic financial reserve.

And I know the work will continue with your excellent BIA team, supported by a great Board of elected members, an up-to-date 10-year Vision for life sciences and modern infrastructure in a fantastic space at Victoria House, Bloomsbury. The process for my replacement is in professional hands. 

I plan to continue to play for 'Team UK life sciences' in my new role, albeit from a different position on the park, and I want to thank you all who have enabled me to enjoy the best job in UK life sciences for 13 years - a period I now realise is as long as the new Labour government that preceded it. I look forward to working with you all in my new role.