RICHARD HEBDON

Director – Health & Life Sciences, Innovate UK

I am the Director of Health & Life Sciences at Innovate UK. I lead and manage the Innovate UK Health & Life Sciences Sector comprising health, agriculture and food with a combined current portfolio valued at £685 million, and a historic investment of £1.8 billion. My team comprises 18 full time colleagues and includes industry and technology sector specialists, global and EU specialists (NCP’s), analysts and impact and performance managers.

Prior to joining Innovate UK, I worked in technology transfer, R&D management and research and innovation roles in industry and the public sector. This included working in pharmaceutical and vaccine discovery and FMCG product innovation. My original technical background is in microbiology.