More than 90 delegates, speakers and exhibitors came together for the first conference in the new BioIgnite event series, which focuses on the achievements of the life sciences industry in the Northwest and unites industry and academia.
Hosted at Sci-Tech Daresbury, the agenda kicked off with an opportunity to tour the lab facilities before the conference began, followed by sessions on skills development; funding and investment; AI, digital and data in healthcare; early-stage innovation and scaling in industrial biotech into 2026 and beyond.
Read the full event summary here
BioIgnite 2025 is supported by Sci-Tech Daresbury, STFCand Alphalyse.
Agenda highlights:
Keynote Speakers
Dean Cook, Executive Director for Place and Global, Innovate UK
Henri Murison, Chief Executive, The Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP)
Linda Randall, Associate VP of Biologics Development, Manufacturing and Control, Pharmaron
Set the Scene Panel – State of the Nation
Chair: John Leake, Business Growth Director, Sci-Tech Daresbury
Speakers
Michelle Lewis, Head of New Business, Cogent Skills
Simon Reid, Assistant Director of Business Growth, Liverpool City Region
Natalie Ferry, Head of Biomedicine, University of Salford
Natalie Kenny, CEO, BioGrad Group
Sponsor Introduction
Valeria Barattini, Client Relation Manager - UK, Alphalyse
Funding and Investment Landscapes Panel
Chair: Lorna Green, CEO, LYVA Labs
Speakers
Alastair Richards, CEO, North-West Cancer Research
Ben Davies, Group Marketing Director, Praetura Ventures
Richard Hebdon, Advisor and Consultant
Viney Chauhan, Managing Director, Inventya
AI, Digital & Data in Healthcare
Chair: Phillip Carvil, Health Tech Cluster Manager, STFC
Speakers
Stefano Mensa, Advanced Computing and Emerging Technologies Group Leader, STFC
Mike Kenny, Associate Director of Innovation and Industry Partnerships, Health Innovation North West Coast
Laura Gardiner, Senior Research Scientist: AI and Informatics for Life Sciences, IBM
What’s in the Pipeline - Health BIC Spotlight
Chairs: Amy Farrington, Head of Business Incubation and James Mooney, Business Incubation Programme Manager, STFC
Speakers
Ross Faulkner, CEO, TalkIt Out
James Chapman, Co-Founder, Decently
Rania Maklad, CEO, Ocuwell
Ashraf Zarkan, CEO, Biotryp
Industrial Biotech Panel: Scaling for 2026 and Beyond
Chair: Aline Miller, Director, Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Catalyst (IBIC)
Speakers
Adeel Aslam, Deputy Managing Director, Bouygues E&S
Damian Kelly, Vice President – Innovation and Technology Development, Croda
Pedro Fernandez, Scientist, Northern Engineering Solutions
