28 January 2011 -- Lord Drayson was awarded the BioIndustry Association (BIA) Award for Lifetime Achievement at the BIA’s Annual Gala Dinner held at the Natural History Museum last night.
The award is in recognition of Lord Drayson’s significant contribution to the sector most recently until May 2010 as Science Minister, and previously as a co-founder of successful biotech company PowderJect Pharmaceuticals. Tim Edwards, BIA Chairman, said:
“We are delighted to present the award to Lord Drayson. His period as a Minister was marked by the commitment and energy he brought to the role, combined with his previous experience as CEO of an innovative biotech company. Lord Drayson is one of the UK’s successful biotech entrepreneurs – he started, built and sold a company – the goal of many of our members. His work in establishing the Office for Life Sciences is also a major accomplishment: the OLS continues to be a significant forum for industry to engage directly with key contacts within government.”
For further information, please contact Robert Winder, Communications Manager, 020 7565 7193; mobile 07825 942 934.
Lord Drayson
Lord Drayson was Minister of State for Science and Innovation and a Defence Minister in the last Labour government. Previously he had been Minister for Defence Equipment and Support and Minister of State for Business and Regulatory Reform.
Lord Drayson was raised to the peerage as Baron Drayson, of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in May 2004.
Prior to his peerage, Paul Drayson was co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive of PowderJect Pharmaceuticals plc from 1993 until selling the company in 2003. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Production Engineering and a PhD in Robotics from Aston University.
Paul Drayson was Chairman of the BioIndustry Association from 2001-2002; Chairman of the Oxford Children’s Hospital Fundraising Campaign from 2002-2005;
Science Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Said Business School at Oxford University from 2003- 2005; and in June 2007, he became a member of the Prime Minister’s Business Council. His hobbies include motor racing and fencing, and in June 2009, completed his first race in the Le Mans 24 hours.
BioIndustry Association
Established in 1989, the BioIndustry Association (BIA) exists to encourage and promote a financially sound and thriving bioscience sector within the UK economy and concentrates its efforts on emerging enterprise and the related interests of companies with whom such enterprise trades.
With over 250 members, the BIA supports a wide range of sectors, majoring on the human health benefits of the technology and represents the interests of these innovative companies to a broad section of stakeholders from patient groups to politicians, advancing its members interests both within the UK and internationally to create a healthy UK bioscience sector which benefits society. For further information, please go to: www.bioindustry.org
