Bionow congratulates Professor Alan Boyd MBE on New Year Honours recognition

Bionow is delighted to congratulate Professor Alan Boyd, founder and CEO of Boyds and a prominent, long-standing member of the Bionow community, on being awarded an MBE in the 2026 New Year Honours List.

Alan has been recognised for his outstanding services to gene therapy and to medical education, reflecting more than four decades of contribution to medicines development and patient benefit. The New Year Honours List celebrates individuals whose work has made a significant and lasting impact across the UK, and this recognition is richly deserved.

Over the course of his career, Alan has played a pivotal role in advancing gene and cell therapy. His work includes helping to establish one of the world’s earliest gene therapy companies, Ark Therapeutics Ltd, and leading the development of Cerepro®, a gene therapy for brain cancer that helped demonstrate the viability of DNA as a therapeutic agent. He has also supported landmark programmes such as Spark Therapeutics’ Luxturna®, the first gene therapy approved by the FDA for an inherited cause of blindness, helping to shape the path for many therapies that followed.

Since founding Boyds in 2005, Alan and his team have supported biotechs, pharmaceutical companies and academic groups to translate innovative science into approved medicines. This has included involvement in more than 25 approved products, among them 13 cell and gene therapies, as well as support for the development of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. His achievements have previously been recognised through multiple honours, including the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade.

Alongside his scientific and commercial achievements, Alan is widely respected for his contribution to medical education. As a founding member and former President of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, he played a key role in pharmaceutical medicine being recognised by the General Medical Council as a medical specialty. He has mentored generations of clinicians and scientists and co-developed a long-running training programme for the Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine, which he later gifted to the Faculty to support its future education programmes.

Alan is also a Fellow of several leading professional bodies, including the Royal Society of Biology, the British Pharmacological Society, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine and the Academy of Medical Sciences.

As an active and long-term member of Bionow, Alan has been a valued contributor to the life sciences community across the North and beyond. His career exemplifies the innovation, collaboration and commitment to patient impact that Bionow exists to support.

Bionow offers its warmest congratulations to Professor Alan Boyd MBE on this well-earned national honour.