Longtime BIA head Bates named executive chair of U.K.’s Office of Life Sciences

The U.K. government has named Steve Bates executive chair for the Office of Life Sciences. He has tendered his resignation as CEO of the U.K.’s BioIndustry Association (BIA), which he has led since 2012. Under Bates’ leadership, the BIA worked behind the scenes to enable the HSBC Holdings plc (LSE:HSBA; NYSE:HSBC; HKEX:5) deal with Silicon Valley Bank UK that followed SVB’s collapse in 2023. The trade group also helped restore the benefits of R&D tax credits that are seen as seminal to the sector, and worked to enable pension funds to invest in biotechs. Bates’ last day at BIA will be Sept. 26. He spoke with BioCentury Editor in Chief Simone Fishburn on The BioCentury Show in 2023 about BIA’s role in U.K. biotech.

Katie Mazuk has taken on a new role at Novartis AG (SIX:NOVN; NYSE:NVS) as chief patient experience officer. Mazuk, who joined the pharma last year as VP of special projects, will lead Novartis Patient Support, a unit serving U.S. patients prescribed Novartis therapies, and oversee the Novartis Patient Assistance Foundation...