Empowering Women in Biotech: Bringing attendees together through shared experiences

Empowering Women in Biotech by Bionow was back for the second time this year, this time with Ward Hadaway’s Newcastle office playing host to more than 70 delegates and speakers.

There were two panel discussions on the agenda, Navigating Career Paths: From Lab to Leadership and The Future of Biotech: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Science, along with a session of Early Career Journey presentations and two keynotes from Alcyomics CEO, Prof. Anne Dickinson, and CEO and Co-Founder of ClotProtect, Prof. Helen Philippou.​

The first keynote, Can New Alternative Methodologies or Non-Animal Methodologies (NAMs) Predict Clinical Outcome?, looked at finding alternatives to using animals in pharmaceutical testing based on the ethical principles of the Three Rs of animal testing: replacement, reduction and refinement.

The presentation revealed that in vitro methodologies such as the Skimune® platform, Alcyomics’ proprietary skin explant, offering a human ex-vivo model for testing biologics, show that​ using human tissue can indeed predict pre-clinical efficacy and safety of novel drugs and compounds. It was also summarised that increasing awareness of NAMs will reduce the need for animal model experimentation and enable drugs to enter the clinic in a safer and more cost- effective manner, and regulatory acceptance has enabled the accelerated development and use of NAMs to improve drug development.​

The second presentation, which explored Helen Philippou’s background and her path to academia and CEO status, looked at some of the obstacles she faced along the way, including not being allowed to attend the local grammar school, battling to go to university, only being permitted to write a PhD thesis after 12 publications, and only being promoted once in 10 years whilst tenured at the University of Leeds.

Despite these setbacks, Helen has since gone on to become Professor of Translational Medicine​, co-Founder of LUNAC Therapeutics (the first therapeutics company to spin out of the University of Leeds), past-Chair of the ​International Society of Fibrinolysis & Proteolysis, and ​Chair of the FXI and Contact Pathway (the Standardisation Subcommittee of the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis), alongside her position at ClotProtect. Her take-home message for the attendees was that it does not matter where you come from, more your focus, purpose and commitment. Her advice was to overcome fears and limiting beliefs and learn from those who have taken the same path to decide your own journey.

We also heard from three amazing young women at the beginning of their career journeys. Shannon Kennedy spoke about how a school careers talk by Arcinova’s Steve Byard got her interested in life sciences and a career at Arcinova, GSK’s Elish Chambers talked about her rapid progression at GSK Barnard Castle, currently working at GSK’s Head Office on product sustainability, and from CPI we heard from Kate Davison who discussed the merits and benefits of being on a degree apprenticeship.

The panels were equally thought provoking, highlighting that whilst acknowledging how far we have come as a sector in recent years, there is still work to be done, but also discussing the clear differential on gender balance in the UK compared to the US. One particularly powerful point that was made was how lucky we are to be living when we are, that the opportunities available now wouldn’t have been available to previous generations of women. The energy from the event was positive, uplifting and empowering, leaving a lasting impression of female resilience overcoming resistance.

Commenting on another successful event, Bionow’s Executive Director of Business Development, Stella James, said: “What an inspiring morning this has been. We’ve heard so many powerful stories, from women who are leading innovation, challenging convention, and shaping the future of biotech. Each speaker today has offered something unique: insights into leadership, lessons learned along the way, and honest reflections on what it takes to succeed and to thrive in this sector. At Bionow, we’re proud to be part of a community that values inclusion, innovation, and the empowerment of women in biotech.”

The partner for this Empowering Women in Biotech event was Ward Hadaway.