Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst Looks for New CEO as Martino Picardo to Move On
Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst is looking for a new Chief Executive Officer as it has been announced that Martino Picardo is to leave his role in June after six years in charge.
SBC is the UK's first open innovation campus in life sciences, driving collaboration to improve healthcare. It is based on the GSK site at Stevenage, and is a collaboration between GSK, Wellcome, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board).
Martino Picardo was SBC's first CEO, having been appointed in 2011. He developed SBC into a leading UK life sciences hub, overseeing a range of milestones and unique initiatives, including the opening of the Incubator and Accelerator buildings in 2012, the launch of an open innovation challenge in neurodegenerative disease, and establishment of translational laboratories for the University of Cambridge and UCL.
Dr Picardo played a pivotal role in developing a thriving multi-party campus hosting MRCT's Centre for Therapeutics Discovery and the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult's Manufacturing Centre, along with bringing in partners such as GE Healthcare, Eli Lilly & Co, J&J Innovation and Sanofi. SBC recently celebrated its fifth anniversary since opening, during which time it has supported more than 50 tenants who have raised over £200m in funding while in residence.
He will return to his home base in Manchester, where he will continue to work in the life sciences sector. However, he will miss his role at SBC and will look back with pride. He said, "Being CEO of SBC has been the most exciting role of my career so far. I've enjoyed every minute of leading this unique initiative, which wouldn't be the success it is today without the fantastic backing of the SBC team, Board and tenants. I would also like to thank our founder stakeholders GlaxoSmithKline, Wellcome and BEIS/Innovate UK for their continued support over the past six years. Although I am very sad to be leaving, the time is right to hand over to a new leader to grow SBC in its next phase of development."
Comment
It is evidence of the exciting life sciences focus within Hertfordshire, in the heart of the Golden Triangle, that SBC is located in the 'county of opportunity'. We are proud to work closely with SBC - SBC is a member of the PING (Pharmaceutical Industry Network Group) initiative we run at VWV, and we also provide a legal surgery in support of tenants at SBC. What has grown and continues to develop, from absolutely nothing just five years ago, is due to the efforts of Martino and his team. We wish him well in his new endeavours, and we also look forward to working with the new SBC leadership team, supporting them in taking SBC to the next level in the next chapter.