Banging the drum for women

BioBeat was founded four years ago to redress the lack of females in the bioscience sector. Founder, Miranda Weston-Smith tells us about how BioBeat has grown since then.

I founded BioBeat in 2012 to bring energy and growth to the bio sector.  As the world found its way out of the recession, and the biobusiness sector underwent massive transformation, I believed fresh strategies would help us to bring better health to people in a sustainable way. One way to bring this about was for us all to engage with the inspirations of successful women entrepreneurs and leaders.  Looking on the podium or in the media, we often see half the world. I thought we needed to change that.

My experience working with women bio entrepreneurs, and research too, suggested they adopt different strategies for success – from building companies, working in teams and communication to raising funds and attitudes to risk. Understanding this offers opportunities to develop business models that effectively engage talent in broader, more inclusive and more dynamic ways. The idea was to show fresh pathways to success and the people who are making an impact. This was the union of ideas for BioBeat coming into play.

In 2013, our first conference – Beating the odds: growing biobusinesses today – took place with an all-women line up on the podium and an audience of men and women.

BioBeat is based in Cambridge – and the Entrepreneurship Centre at the University of Cambridge's Judge Business School and the Innovation Forum are wonderful partners –  however its reach is UK wide with some international connections.

I am very grateful to The Wellcome Genome Campus for generously hosting BioBeat15 on Translating Genomics into BioBusiness. The conference explored the burgeoning opportunities for developing companies that harness the potential of genomics. Female scientific leaders including keynote speaker Professor Dame Sally Davies shared their perspectives on challenges and successes in starting and growing biotech businesses, and inspired a full audience of entrepreneurs, basic researchers, funders and many others with a passion for bio-innovation.

Professor Davies described the 100,000 Genomes Project and the coordinated response being put in place across the NHS, NIHR biomedical research centres and the national conversation on genomics and skills development. Her views on the need for greater efforts to be made by all organisations – and in particular the NIHR that she oversees – to prioritise the improvement of opportunities for women in medicine, are well documented.

In 2014, I launched the 50 Movers and Shakers in BioBusiness report. This annual report identifies 50 inspirational women in biobusiness in the UK who are challenging the status quo to bring better health to people around the world. The report includes women in companies, research, hospitals, finance and advisory roles.

Nominations come from all over the UK and are reviewed by experts. Although by no means a definitive list, the Movers and Shakers report draws attention to the dynamism of women in biotech resetting our imagination for what can be achieved.  The most recent report reveals 23 of the 50 women profiled are founders or co-founders of their own companies. The majority of the remainder run their own research labs or are in service functions such as finance or public affairs.

Are you a mover and shaker?

We are looking for 25 Rising Stars to include in the 2016 50 Movers and Shakers in BioBusiness report. Rising Stars are women under 40 with at least one tangible biobusiness success who are challenging the status quo to bring better health to people around the world. They are the young leaders, the ones to watch, who are inspiring the next generation and making a global impact.

If you would like to make a nomination for a rising star, please contact Miranda on Miranda@mws-consulting.co.uk.

Author: Miranda Weston Smith is the Founder of BioBeats, based in Cambridge.