Kate Bingham

Dame Catherine Elizabeth Bingham DBE HonFRS HonFREng (born 19 October 1965[1]) is a British venture capitalist.[2] She is a managing partner at a venture capital firm, SV Health Investors.[3]

The Honourable Dame

Kate Bingham

DBE HonFRS HonFREng
Born
Catherine Elizabeth Bingham

19 October 1965
London, England, UK
NationalityBritish
EducationSt Paul's Girls' School
Alma materUniversity of Oxford (MA)
Harvard University (MBA)
OccupationVenture capitalist
Spouse
​
(m. 1992)​
Parents

In 2020, Bingham chaired the UK Government's Vaccine Taskforce, steering procurement of vaccines and the strategy for their deployment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early life and education

Bingham was born in London, the only daughter of the barrister and judge Tom Bingham (later Lord Bingham of Cornhill) and Elizabeth (née Loxley) and the eldest of their three children.[4] She attended St Paul's Girls' School, London,[5] before going on to study at the University of Oxford where she was an undergraduate student of Christ Church, Oxford, where she graduated with a first-class degree in Biochemistry (MA).[6]

Bingham then pursued further studies at Harvard Business School, taking the degree of MBA.[7]

Career

Bingham worked in business development for Vertex Pharmaceuticals and consultants Monitor Company before joining Schroder Ventures in 1991 (now SV Health Investments).[8][9] She became a managing partner specializing in biotechnology, and has served on the boards of companies in the UK, US, Ireland, Sweden and Germany, including Autifony Therapeutics, Bicycle Therapeutics (named for their specialism in bicyclic peptides), Mestag Therapeutics, Pulmocide, Sitryx, and Zarodex Therapeutics.[9][10]

As of January 2021 she is listed as being a director of the following active companies:[2] Mestag Therapeutics Ltd; Cybele Therapeutics Ltd; Bicycle tx Ltd; Bicycle Therapeutics plc; Sitryx Therapeutics Ltd; Pulmocide Ltd; Autifony Therapeutics Ltd; Bicycle RD Ltd; SV Health Investors Ltd (whose subsidiaries include the Dementia Discovery Fund);[11] and SCV Health Managers LLP.

She serves as a Trustee of the Francis Crick Institute.[8]

HM Government appointment

In May 2020 Bingham was appointed Chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce, without a recruitment process.[12] The Taskforce was set up to manage the path towards the introduction of a COVID-19 vaccine in the UK and its global distribution.[6] In this temporary unpaid role,[13] which finished at the end of the year,[13] she reported to the prime minister.[6] In October, she was one of the participants in a trial of a vaccine by Novavax.[14] According to leaked documents seen by The Sunday Times, Bingham charged taxpayers £670,000 for a team of eight full-time boutique consultants from London PR agency Admiral Associates.[15]

Dame Kate's work on the UK's vaccination rollout programme has been praised by scientists and international media,[16][17][18][3] particularly for securing 350 million doses of six vaccines and setting up infrastructure for clinical trials, manufacturing and distribution.[3]

Awards and honours

In January 2017 Bingham received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the BioIndustry Association UK.[9]

She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for "services to the procurement, manufacture and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines",[19][20] Bingham was also admitted to the Freedom of the City of London in that year.[21] She was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2023[22] and was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering later the same year.[23]

Views on science policies

Bingham has expressed views on how the UK covid vaccination programme could have been better run[24] and on how UK potential in life sciences could be improved.[25][26]

Personal life

Bingham married Jesse Norman in 1992; the couple have two sons and a daughter.[27] Norman is a Conservative politician, a Member of Parliament since 2010, who has held various ministerial posts since 2016.[28]

References
  1. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 107th edn. London, UK: Burke's Peerage & Gentry Ltd. p. 376 (BINGHAM OF CORNHILL, LP). ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
  2. "Catherine Elizabeth BINGHAM". Companies House. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  3. Cookson, Clive (13 November 2020). "Scientists defend controversial head of UK vaccine task force". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  4. Tominey, Camilla (19 March 2021). "Kate Bingham exclusive interview: 'EU leaders undermining the vaccine are completely irresponsible'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  5. Johnson, Rachel (23 June 2001). "From here to maternity Conventional thinking says women waste a brilliant education by becoming full-time mothers. Not so, says Rachel Johnson". Telegraph. London. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  6. "Kate Bingham appointed chair of UK Vaccine Taskforce". GOV.UK. 16 May 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  7. "In the UK, She Leads the Search for a COVID Vaccine". Harvard Business School. 23 August 2020. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  8. "Kate Bingham, Board Member". Francis Crick Institute. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  9. "Kate Bingham, Management Partner". svhealthinvestors.com. SV Health Investors. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  10. Bingham, Kate (27 October 2020). "The UK Government's Vaccine Taskforce: strategy for protecting the UK and the world". The Lancet. 397 (10268): 68–70. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32175-9. PMC 7833709. PMID 33125932.
  11. "SV Health Investors UK Limited: Annual Report and Financial Statements". Companies House. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  12. "Boris Johnson's profligacy problem". The Economist. 14 November 2020. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  13. "Covid-19: Vaccination targets could be exceeded, says Kate Bingham". BBC News. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  14. Merrifield, Ryan (14 October 2020). "Oxford coronavirus vaccine boss warns UK won't get back to normal until at least July". Daily Mirror. London. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  15. Pogrund, Gabriel (7 November 2020). "Vaccine tsar Kate Bingham runs up £670,000 PR bill". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  16. Bolzen, Stefanie; Guerrera, Antonello (6 February 2021). "Former UK vaccines chief says yes to Russian jab if data is good". DIE WELT. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  17. Landler, Mark; Mueller, Benjamin (29 January 2021). "Vaccine Rollout Gives U.K. a Rare Win in the Pandemic". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  18. Balls, Katy (6 February 2021). "Secrets of the Vaccine Taskforce's success". www.spectator.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  19. "No. 63377". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2021. p. B8.
  20. Malnick, Edward (5 June 2021). "Exclusive: Queen to honour Kate Bingham with a damehood". The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  21. Lord Mayor Russell on Twitter
  22. Anon (2023). "Kate Bingham". royalsociety.org. London: Royal Society.
  23. "Royal Academy of Engineering welcomes 73 new Fellows". Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  24. https://www.ft.com/content/9897e26e-1427-496f-8f21-a4ef4e5989a3
  25. https://www.ft.com/content/70e1733d-ecd9-4c8e-bd6a-54b31377ede3
  26. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/kate-bingham-we-have-a-golden-opportunity-to-give-the-nhs-a-hand-dtgztnz33
  27. Merrick, Jane (7 October 2012). "Jesse Norman: 'The British people are crying out for leadership'". The Independent. London. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  28. "Jesse Norman: Parliamentary career". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 September 2023.


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