Major honour for National Horizons Centre industry advisor
The Chief Industry Advisor to Teesside University’s National Horizons Centre has been awarded Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2021 New Year’s Honour List.
Steve Bagshaw, who is also the non-executive chairman and the former chief executive officer of FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, has been given the award in recognition of his services to the UK Manufacturing and Biotechnology Sector.
Steve has been at FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies for 16 years and, during his tenure, helped establish the company as a world-leading Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) providing end-to-end services for the development and manufacture of biologics, viral vaccines and viral vectors that currently employs approximately 3000 staff globally, with 850 located in Billingham in the North East of England.
Last year, he joined the National Horizons Centre as Chief Industry Advisor to help the £22.3 million centre of excellence for the bioscience industries keep abreast of latest developments in the life sciences field and ensure its training and research meet the needs of business.
Dr Jen Vanderhoven, Director of the National Horizons Centre, said: “We are delighted to see Steve receive this richly-deserved award.
“His knowledge and expertise within the life sciences sector is formidable and the Tees Valley’s reputation as a global centre for the biosciences industry, in no small part, down to his hard work.”
Steve Bagshaw added: “I am very honored to receive the CBE award in the New Years Honours List 2021, alongside countless individuals that are dedicated to building a healthier tomorrow
“This recognition comes at a time when our UK and global biotechnology and manufacturing teams are working not only to develop and make the vaccines we all need, but also the medicines, food, biochemicals, fuels and materials that will help us create a sustainable and healthy future for our planet.”
Steve’s knowledge and expertise within the life sciences sector is formidable and the Tees Valley’s reputation as a global centre for the biosciences industry is, in no small part, down to his hard work.
In addition to his role at FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies and the National Horizons Centre, Steve has spent the last seven years as chair of the UK’s Industrial Biotechnology Forum bringing together the UK government, industry, academia, and funding agencies to ensure that the region remains a significant global player in industrial biotechnology and life sciences sectors.
Additionally, he has spent the last four years working across all the sectors of the bio-economy to enable the launch of the UK Bio-Economy strategy in 2018 and now as co-chair of the UK Bio-economy Governance Council overseeing its implementation.
“All of us at FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies are thrilled that Steve Bagshaw is recognized for his tireless efforts to foster collaboration within the bio-economy to advance life sciences research and therapeutics that will have a profound impact on patients,” said Martin Meeson, chief executive officer, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies. “We are deeply honoured that one of our own has received this honour, and we send our warmest congratulations to Steve.” Most recently, Steve has been working on the UK’s Vaccines Task Force to ensure the deployment of population scale doses of COVID-19 vaccines for both the UK and the world.
He also serves as a non-executive board member of Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), and Arcinova, and was recently appointed to the Council of the U.K.’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) part of U.K. Research and Innovation – the UK Government oversight body for funding and activities.