Three life science heavyweights have bolstered the board of Cambridge’s Babraham Bioscience Technologies as it seeks to grow the global influence of one of Europe’s most influential biotechnology campuses.

Molecular biologist Professor Wolf Reik, AstraZeneca’s head of operations Alexander Hewitson and cancer specialist Dr Clive Stanway fortify the ‘brains’ of Babraham’s already formidable think tank.

BBT board chairman Dr Andy Richards foresees a great future for the campus. He said: “The board sets the strategic direction of the campus in line with our vision to be the best place in Europe to start and scale up a life science business. 

“I have great confidence in the board, along with the executive team, to take the campus to new levels of success, providing an unparalleled environment for our tenant companies to succeed.” 

Professor Reik, acting director of Babraham Institute has been nominated to represent its trustee shareholders’ interests. He replaces Clive Page, Professor of Pharmacology and Director of the Sackler Institute of Pulmonary Pharmacology at King’s College London, who is stepping down after many years’ of committed service to the business.

Professor Reik said: “I am very excited to join the BBT board and look forward to contributing to the collaboration between the Institute, BBT, campus companies, and UKRI-BBSRC to further develop this vibrant campus, which is already an international showcase demonstrating how cutting edge fundamental science connects with cutting edge biotech development. 

“As the campus continues to evolve my hope and expectation is that it will continue to attract an increasingly diverse set of new talent; leading to new career ideas and opportunities at the interface of fundamental bioscience and its translation.”