Rebecca Abram
Director, Strategic Technical Marketing of Fujifilm Diosynth BiotechnologiesRebecca holds the position of Director, Strategic Technical Marketing at FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies. She has global responsibility for leading technical marketing activities for all service offerings in alignment with our Commercial and Business Strategic Groups. Rebecca joined FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies in Billingham, UK, in the Analytical Development department in 2019 and led the analytical component for over 70+ early and late phase customer programs. Rebecca completed post-doctoral research at Durham University (UK) in collaboration with Avecia into the plasticity and wound healing capabilities of adult hair follicle stem cells before and after bioreactor expansion. She attended The University of Sheffield (UK) where she received her BSc in Chemistry and subsequently completed her doctoral research into anti-inflammatory peptides.
Anand Ashok
Corporate Finance Associate Director of BDO
Jenny Barnett
CEO of Monument Therapeutics LimitedJenny has an MA in Experimental Psychology from Oxford University, a PhD in the epidemiology of schizophrenia from the University of Cambridge, and completed post-doctoral work at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. She joined Cambridge Cognition in 2008 and worked in the clinical trial, healthcare and R&D functions before joining the senior management team in 2014 and becoming CSO in 2016. She has worked on the design and analysis of more than 100 cognitive trials and is the author of 60+ scientific publications and six patents. She has led IP strategy, KOL networking and the scientific validation of medical devices for regulatory approval.
James Barwick-Silk
Director, Scientific Strategy, Cell & Gene Therapy of Syneos HealthJames started his role as a Director in Cell & Gene Therapy at Syneos Health in January ‘22, his main responsibilities include integrating, enhancing & articulating Syneos Health’s biopharmaceutical offerings & operating model in the Cell & Gene Therapy space.
His background is in Biopharmaceutical Management Consulting & Synthetic Organic Chemistry. During his tenure as a consultant, he delivered organizational change programs across R&D, including manufacturing & technology strategy projects for Gene Modified Cell Therapies. His PhD focused on development of catalytic processes for applications in Medicinal Chemistry.
Kinga Bercsenyi, PhD
VP of Business Development at ArctorisKinga has a PhD in molecular and cell biology from University College London and Cancer Research UK and a MSc in Systems and Human Biology. Following her Sir Henry Wellcome Fellowship at King’s College London, Kinga worked at Champions Oncology as a BD Associate Director and an immuno-oncology subject matter expert. She then moved to Cerba Research where she was the European Lead in Precision Medicine, supporting clinical trials. She joined Arctoris at the end of November last year and leads the Business Development activities of this dynamic, tech-enabled CRO, aiming to provide better data to clients, which will ultimately lead to better decisions during drug discovery, resulting in better drugs that can transform patients' lives.
Jim Bratherton
Green Solutions Program Manager at Fisher Scientific UKI graduated in Microbiology from the University of Huddersfield, and during the following years of laboratory research, scientific sales and product management, gained the Chartered Institute of Marketing Diploma at Staffordshire University. In 2018 I joined the Fisher Scientific channel in Portfolio Management, and later joined the Program Team. Two years ago I launched the Greener Choice program designed to showcase products with environmental characteristics, and last year I created Green Solutions – a new program designed to help laboratories across Europe to reduce the impact of their operations. My work complements the wider corporate sustainability strategy and journey toward net zero. I now live in Nottinghamshire and outside of work can be found riding with my local cycling club.
Leigh Brody
Investment Manager at UCL Technology Fund
David Browning
CEO of Fixed Phage
Richard Bungay
CEO of Imophoron Ltd
Simon Chandler
CEO of Rinri Therapeutics Ltd.
Alex Charitou
Partner | Life Sciences at EYAlex Charitou is an associate partner in EY Global Life Sciences. He has over 25 years of experience providing knowledge in strategic commercial opportunity assessments, clinical advisory, quality, safety and regulatory strategy, supporting both medical technology, diagnostic and pharmaceutical companies. He has a special interest in software as a medical device, wearables and drug-device combination products.
Alex studied medicine in London, and was a cardiothoracic surgeon in the UK and clinical lead for chest trauma, responsible for developing and running the chest trauma service at one of London's major trauma centres.
Bharat Chudasama
Vice President, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Syneos Health
Lisa Conte
President/CEO Jaguar Health and Chairman, BOD, Napo Therapeutics of Jaguar Health Inc.
Jemma Contreras
Executive Managing Director of Syneos Health
Laia Crespo
Partner at Sanofi VenturesLaia joined Sanofi Ventures in 2018 as a Partner. She focuses on biotech investments and company creation. Prior to Sanofi, she served as Investment Director for Ysios Capital, where she led investments and served on the board of multiple early-stage biotech companies. Earlier in her career, Laia was part of the European New Business Development team of Janssen-Cilag, a pharmaceutical company part of the Johnson & Johnson group, where she assessed commercial and scientific licensing opportunities. Previously she worked as a researcher in the UK in companies such as Spirogen (now AstraZeneca), Medivir and UCB-Celltech.
Laia’s active investments include Muna Therapeutics, NodThera, OMass Therapeutics, QurAlis and Therini Bio. Previous investments and board roles include Lava Therapeutics (LVTX).
Laia graduated in Chemistry from the University of Barcelona, where she also completed a Master in Science and a Ph.D. with honors. Laia holds an M.B.A. from Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, where she focused on biotechnology, healthcare and finance.
Mark Dowling
Head External Innovation Immunology at Sanofi
Stuart Farrow
Vice President of Biosciences at Cancer Research HorizonsStuart is Vice President of Biosciences at Cancer Research Horizons, the recently established translational arm of Cancer Research UK. Before joining Cancer Research UK in 2015, Stuart spent more than 20 years in drug discovery and leadership roles in the pharmaceutical industry. He has worked in several therapeutic areas and has directed major translational research initiatives and overseen programmes for drugs that have achieved regulatory approval and launch. In his current role he has been closely involved in the establishment of major drug discovery alliances in cancer immunology between CR-UK and various industry partners and the creation of the successful spin out companies Artios and iOnctura.
Sheelagh Frame
CSO at Ubiquigent Ltd
Patrik Frei
CEO of Venture Valuation Inc.Dr. Patrik Frei is founder and CEO of Venture Valuation AG, Switzerland, the company he started in 1999 based on a collaboration with the Novartis Venture Fund, which became his first client. Since then he has been involved in over 800 valuations around the globe for investors as well as Biotech, Pharma and Medtech companies. Venture Valuation runs two additional services/businesses: 1) Biotechgate, a global business development database. 2. HelloPartnering, a leading one2one partnering software including the Biotechgate Digital Partnering event (www.digitalpartnering.com). Patrik graduated from the Business University of St. Gallen in Finance and completed his Ph.D thesis at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, EPFL in Lausanne. Patrik has experience as a board member of public and private companies, published numerus articles and provides valuation workshops around the world.
Sapan Gandhi
Founder of Drishti Discoveries
Julie Gilmore
Vice President and Global Head Lilly Gateway Labs at Lilly
David Grimm
Investment Director of UCL Technology Fund
Robert Grundy
Vice President, Business Development at Intelligent OMICS
Tim Haines
Managing Partner at Abingworth
Peter Hamley
Chief Scientific Officer at Samsara Therapeutics LtdPeter is CSO of Samsara Therapeutics, an Oxford-based biotech company with a focus on autophagy and neurodegeneration. He spent more than a decade at Sanofi, in various global discovery and business development roles. He and his teams have contributed to the advancement of many projects into development across multiple therapeutic areas. He started his career at AstraZeneca after postdoctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania, a PhD from Cambridge University, and a BSc in Chemistry from Imperial College London. He holds an MBA from the University of Bath.
Moritz Haneklaus
Senior Scientist at Macomics LimitedMoritz is senior scientist at Macomics with interests in pharmacology, myeloid immunology, and bioinformatics. Moritz has over 10 years of experience studying human myeloid biology with extensive expertise in applying molecular techniques and genomics to complex immunological questions. Mortiz joined Macomics from an academic career, most recently as a Research Fellow at the Institute of Child Health, University College London studying brain tumour single-cell analysis. Prior to that, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge as part of the Open Targets consortium investigating neuroinflammation in the context of Alzheimer’s disease. Moritz obtained his PhD in Immunology at Trinity College Dublin studying inflammatory signalling in macrophages. He has an MSc in BioMedicine from the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, and a BSc in Biology from the University of Heidelberg, Germany.
Victor Harabari
Founder and CEO of CardiocrownCardioCrown is developing a technology that will enable stroke patients to take control of their rehabilitation. With our innovative product, NeuroVive, patients can benefit from the combined power of Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and Functional Electrical Stimulation to improve their controlled voluntary arm and hand functions. This system also allows patients to track their rehabilitation progress and receive constant feedback and psychological support. Ultimately, NeuroVive aims to revolutionize stroke rehabilitation by bringing it directly to the patient's homes.
Alistair Henry
Head of UK Research at UCBAlistair is SVP & Head, Discovery Science and UK Site Head for UCB. He is responsible for molecule generation across the portfolio alongside the development of the molecule platforms. He is also the UK Site Head for UCB and part of those responsibilities include the redevelopment of the UK Campus at Windlesham. Alistair Joined Celltech in 1998 (acquired by UCB in 2004) and has worked on multiple therapeutic programs and technology platforms. He has contributed directly to the discovery of molecules that are now approved therapeutics. He has championed the use of advanced structural and biophysical methodologies to support drug discovery and to provide mechanistic understanding and robust patent protection around key molecules. He collaborates extensively with the UK academic network, and this has led to several long-term partnerships with key institutions. Alistair continues to publish and to contribute to inventions and patent filings. Alistair received his BSc in Immunology from King’s College London and his PhD from the Department of Biophysics, also at King’s College London.
Kathy Hills
Partner Corporate Tax at Penningtons Manches Cooper
Carin Ingemarsdotter
Co-Founder and COO of Spliceor Therapeutics
Daniel Ives
CEO and Founder of Shift Bioscience
Aneesh Karatt Vellatt
CSO and Co-founder of Maxion TherapeuticsDr Aneesh Karatt-Vellatt is the Chief Scientific officer and co-founder at Maxion Therapeutics Ltd (Cambridge, UK), a company developing antibody drugs for treating diseases driven by ion channels and GPCRs using its KnotBody technology platform. Dr Karatt Vellatt was also co-founder of IONTAS Ltd and holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge.
Chris Kimber-Nickelson
Development Director of MEPCChris Kimber-Nickelson is a Development Director at MEPC and Commercial Director for Silverstone Park. Chris has direct responsibility for the delivery of MEPC’s thematic investment at Silverstone Park and also MEPC’s urban regeneration scheme in Bristol, St Mary le Port. In addition Chris’ team is responsible for capital projects at Milton Park, Oxfordshire. Chris originally joined MEPC in 2008 and was Head of Development when he left in 2015. Chris re-joined MEPC 2019 and over his combined time with the company has delivered over 2million sq ft of development and refurbishments across a range of sectors including life sciences, offices, industrial and retail. Chris specializes in place-making and was intimately involved in MEPC’s acquisition of Silverstone in 2013 and is now close to overseeing the delivery of over 1million space there. Chris has delivered numerous laboratory projects both speculative and directly for end-users across a range of science.
Chris is a member of the MEPC Senior Management Team and previously has served as Chairman of the Judging panel for BCO South West region. As such, Chris is focussed on delivering quality environments and user experiences and how these can be delivered in the context of investor performance and the requirement to achieve Net Zero Carbon
Jan-Philipp Kruse
Senior Director, Open Innovation of Bayer AG
Carole Le Page
Tax Partner at BDO LLP
David Llewellyn
CEO & Co-Founder of DJS AntibodiesDavid is the Managing Director and co-founder of DJS Antibodies and led the company from initiation through to its acquisition by AbbVie in 2022. He completed a PhD at the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute and has more than 10 years’ experience in evolutionary immunology, antibody discovery and myeloid cell biology. DJS was founded with Dr Joe Illingworth to pursue the discovery and development of novel therapeutic monoclonal antibodies which target GPCRs and secured investment from pharma, venture capital, and non-dilutive granting bodies prior to the acquisition.
Prior to founding DJS, David co-founded and led Beyond Equality, an organisation promoting positive masculinity and gender equality amongst groups of young men. David remains committed to promoting values of equality and diversity throughout DJS and more broadly.
Peter Llewellyn-Davies
CEO of invIOs GmbHPeter Llewellyn-Davies is CEO of invIOs, an Austrian biotech focusing on discovery and development of novel cancer immunotherapies. Peter has more than 25 years of experience in executive leadership and Board of Director roles in life sciences at companies such as Medigene AG, Shield Therapeutics plc, WILEX AG, Immunocore ltd. and Catherex Inc.
Peter is also the founding president of BIOTECH AUSTRIA, the Austrian Biotechnology Association.
Simon Loiodice
Co-Founder and CEO of Karla TxSimon has a PhD in neuropsychopharmacology with 10+ years of experience in early drug development gained in biotech, pharma and CRO.
He has been involved in various neuroscience drug discovery/development programs mainly with tens of biotech/pharma in EU and the US.
Passionate bioentrepreneur, Simon is used to face both scientific and business challenges in fast-paced environments.
He likes to leave his comfort zone, challenges the status quo and has a reputation for his “can do” attitude.
Debora Lucarelli
Chief Executive Officer at Enhanc3d GenomicsDebora has a wealth of experience in technology development and a strong track record of successfully delivering large-scale projects in academia and industry. Previously, she led a cancer signature discovery program at Cambridge Epigenetix, directed laboratory research in large population studies (Head of laboratory, MRC Epidemiology, University of Cambridge) and worked on the development of the Oxford Nanopore’s technology. At Enhanc3D Genomics Debora is driving development of the technical platforms, establishing partnerships across the pharma and biotech industry and advocating the advent of a 3D genomics era.
Kath Mackay
Director of Life Sciences at Bruntwood SciTechDr Kath Mackay is Director of Life Sciences for Bruntwood SciTech - the UK’s leading property provider dedicated to driving the growth of the UK science and technology sector. She has a keen interest in growing the life science industry, and businesses and infrastructure within the sector, ensuring the UK is the best place to establish and scale a life science organisation.
As Director of Life Sciences, Kath is responsible for developing the life science vision and strategy for Bruntwood SciTech, external affairs, and developing sector specific innovation services and investment support for the life sciences business across our network of campuses. Kath also oversees Alderley Park - the UK’s largest single- site life science campus - the new £210m Birmingham Health Innovation Campus, and Citylabs in Manchester, the world-leading health innovation and precision medicine campus in partnership with Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.
Kath joined Bruntwood SciTech from the executive board of Innovate UK where she led the team responsible for growing and scaling businesses working in the biomedical, health, agriculture and food sectors, creating and delivering a £700m portfolio of infrastructure, Catapults, grant and loan investments. Kath is also Non-Executive Director of the Northern Health Science Alliance, the North of England’s health partnership, UKRI’s National Biofilms Innovation Centre, and Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership.
Thomas Mander
CEO of DomainexDr Tom Mander has enjoyed an industrial career in drug discovery and translational sciences spanning over 30 years. He completed his DPhil at the University of Oxford investigating the role of microglial cells in the CNS before undertaking scientific research positions with Xenova and CNPR (Singapore) before being appointed as a Group Leader in HTS for Glaxo Wellcome. Tom has subsequently held scientific, business development and management positions at EVOTEC, Tripos Discovery Research, Asterand, Advanced Cell Diagnostics and BioFocus/Charles River. He was appointed COO of Domainex in 2015 and became CEO in 2020.
Igor Matushansky
Global Head, Oncology Therapeutic Area at Ipsen
Andrew McConaghie
Senior Writer at Citeline
Keith McDonald
Senior Director, Global Regulatory Affairs of IQVIA
Sonali Mohapatra
Quantum Innovation Sector Lead at National Quantum Computing Centre
Frances Murphy
Regional Vice President, Clinical Business Solutions EU & APAC at Precision for MedicineLeading authority in clinical CROs, focused on client services and regional growth implementation. Dedicated proponent of harnessing truly personalized medicine to develop more effective treatments for patients. Brings a high ethical standard to discussions and values transparency and collaboration.
Szabolcs Nagy
Founder, CEO of Turbine AISzabi used to consult for The Medical Futurist and is the former Head of Marketing for Tresorit, a leading, global, secure cloud technology startup. With his understanding of molecular biology, oncology and AI, he translates simulated biology into real world impact by pinpointing the most challenging aspects of the current drug development workflow. Today, he is responsible for building a team dedicated both to sound science and delivering results, and for turning Turbine's disruptive technology into a ground-breaking business.
Jack O'Meara
CEO of Ochre BioJack O'Meara is co-founder and CEO of Ochre Bio. Ochre Bio is developing a portfolio of therapies for chronic liver and cardiometabolic diseases, by combining advances in genomics, RNA medicine and organ perfusion. Jack received his Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering from National University of Ireland, Galway and his Masters from the University of Notre Dame.
Lisa Page
Partner at Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP
Emma Palmer Foster
CONSULTANT at EJ Palmer ConsultingAs EJ Palmer Consulting, Emma Palmer Foster works with pharma and biotech companies/organisations on strategy, investor relations and communications.
Emma has 30 years of experience in the European healthcare sector, via roles in investment banking, VC, financial communications and investor relations, journalism and technology transfer.
She has worked with a wide range of pharma, biotech and medtech firms on IPOs, M&A transactions, public and private fundraisings.
Emma has an MA in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford and an MBA from Durham University Business School. She chairs a UK NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) Product Development Award Panel and is a Director of Discovery Park Ventures.
Mark Peakman
Head of Autoimmunity Cluster, Immunology & Inflammation Research at Sanofi
Anna Perdrix Rosell
co-CEO and co-founder of Sixfold Bioscience
Carole Pugh
General Manager at QbD
Nils Rage
Head of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) at Stanhope - Oxford NorthNils is Head of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) for property company Stanhope.
He leads the company’s sustainability and ESG strategy across design and construction development activities, asset management and investments through to corporate governance.
Stanhope works across a 12 million sq ft development pipeline and £4 billion of assets under management including Oxford North, the new one million sq ft life sciences’ innovation district under construction in the city, recently acquired buildings at Cambridge Science Park, and in London the British Library, Royal Street and White City Place.
Prior to joining Stanhope in 2021, Nils led environmental sustainability strategy and implementation for FTSE 100 real estate company Landsec.
Uma Sagaram
CSO at CyanoCapturePhD in Plant Microbiology from Texas A&M University. More than 10 years of experience in leading innovation driven R&D in corporate and academic environments related to sustainable biobased solutions in energy and materials. Led multiple microalgae techno-economic feasibility studies for application in biofuels, alternative protein and high-value compounds. Currently, leading the R&D at CyanoCapture in developing a scalable cyanobacteria-based technology for industry scale CO2 capture.
Vlad Seitan
CSO at Laverock Therapeutics
Oliver Sexton
Investment Director of UKi2SOliver Sexton joined Midven in April 2014 to manage the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund’s synthetic biology investments.
Prior to joining Midven, Oliver managed commercialisation of bioengineering and medical technologies At Imperial Innovations and was on the board of oncology therapeutic Acublate Ltd. Earlier in his career he held commercial and partnering roles at Ark Therapeutics.
Oliver also managed a team of biotech buy-side analysts and worked at a pharma strategy consultancy.
Oliver has a BSc in Molecular Biology/Biotechnology and an MSc in Plant Science from Bristol University.
Nik Sharma
Co-Founder CEO of BioCorteXNik Sharma is the CEO and co-founder of BioCorteX. Before founding BioCorteX, Nik was an clinician-scientist and remains a practicing consultant neurologist. BioCorteX is a techbio that applies deep technology to deliver effective therapeutics and de-risk the pharma pipeline by leveraging the synergy between therapeutics and bacteria. BioCorteX has engagements with a number of multinational companies in pharma, consumer health and manufacturing.
Our key product, Carbon Mirror™ uses deep tech and AI, to simulate how the colossal number of microbiota interact with a therapeutic, de-risking preclinical studies and clinical trials, and replacing uncertainty with confidence for the patient. Carbon Mirror™ has been used to solve pain points for a number of multinationals. We will transform the treatment landscape by delivering therapeutics that simply work.
Malcolm Silander
Founder of Precision BioSearch
Jeremy Skillington
CEO of Poolbeg Pharma PLCJeremy Skillington began his biotechnology career in the Business Development group of Genentech, Inc in California in 2002. At Genentech he was responsible for executing over 40 licencing, investment and collaboration transactions. Returning to Ireland in 2009, Jeremy led Business Development and was a member of the Senior Management team at Opsona Therapeutics Ltd before becoming a founder and CEO of immuno-oncology company TriMod Therapeutics Ltd. In 2014 Jeremy joined German investment fund HS Lifesciences GmbH to provide start-up and business development support to portfolio companies ImmunoQure AG and Ethris GmbH.
Jeremy joined Inflazome on its founding in 2016 and was instrumental in their acquisition by Roche in September 2020 for €380M (£325M) upfront and significant downstream milestones. Jeremy studied Biochemistry at the National University of Ireland, Galway where he was awarded his Ph.D. He performed his post-doctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco in the lab of Prof Rik Derynck.
Kirsty Smitten
CEO of MetalloBioDr Kirsty Smitten, CEO of MetalloBio Limited. Kirsty has PhD in Chemistry and Microbiology from the University of Sheffield and is a Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellow. Kirsty co-founded MetalloBio with Professor Jim Thomas. MetalloBio is developing a novel antimicrobial platform technology. The technology is being developed as a broad-spectrum systemic antimicrobial and as a coating for medical devices, giving the capability to both prevent and treat multi-drug resistant infections.
Clare Terlouw
Head of LifeArc Ventures at LifeArc VenturesClare Terlouw is Head of LifeArc Ventures, responsible for LifeArc’s venture investments across the life science sector, which include a portfolio of direct and indirect investments. She is the head of the LifeArc Ventures investment team. LifeArc’s venture strategy is focused on a seed to Series A investment strategy with capital to fund portfolio companies into later rounds of funding.
Clare was previously at Syncona Investment Management Ltd, a FTSE250 healthcare investment trust which builds and invests in life sciences companies, where she was Head of Corporate Development. She has 15 years of biotech financing experience as an investment banker in the City of London with significant expertise in funding for innovative life sciences companies in the private and public markets.
Clare is also a board member of the UK BIA and a director of several venture backed companies.
Panteli Theocharous
Global Vice President, Cell and Gene Therapy Strategy Lead at PPD, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific
Douglas Thomson
CEO of Pneumagen LtdDouglas Thomson is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder at Pneumagen. Prior to co-founding Pneumagen, he led executive teams generating rapid value creation at companies such as GT Biologics a part of 4D Pharma. His background is in vaccine research and development. He was previously at SingVax, in Singapore, as CEO, and Microscience Ltd as Business Development Director. Douglas currently sits on the board of Omideon, a St. Andrews based biotech company focused on the development of novel treatments for cancer. He also Chairs the EnteroBiotix board, a microbiome therapeutics platform and product company.
Emma Tinsley
CEO of WeatherdenEmma Tinsley is a leading biotech executive and the CEO of Weatherden, a global integrated clinical consultancy and experts in scientific strategy and clinical development. Emma has deep experience of company formation, clinical development strategy, operating model transformation and investment management and was previously at SV Health Investors in the biotech company creation team creating immunology and oncology companies; and prior to this, in the Life Sciences team at KPMG.
James Tumbridge
Barrister, Partner at Venner Shipley LLP at Venner Shipley Intellectual Property
Clare Wareing
Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Cumulus OncologyDr Clare Wareing PhD, Founder and CEO (Director). Senior executive and entrepreneur with the vision, drive and experience of successful oncology drug development and company exits to lead the company forward.
