Emma Craughan, Head of Sales, discusses all things biotech, including: the story of her entry into the industry, her hopes for the future of bioprocessing, what it means to work at BPES, and more…
Why did you get into biotech?
“I got into biotechnology after studying biochemical engineering at university. But prior to that, when I was deciding what to study, I was just plowing through the prospectuses and I found this wonderful course which fitted with my interests. At the time I enjoyed chemistry, maths and physics, none of which had any bio in it really but I just loved the description of that course. I wanted to go and study in London and I ended up studying biochemical engineering for four years at UCL. That ended up catapulting me into the biotech-sphere and set me on the path to where I am today.”
What has surprised you most about being in this industry, something that you might not have expected?
“It is so far reaching. You can go from food products all the way through to patient specific medicines. Bioprocessing is applied for a wide range of products but the fundamentals, typically, are the same in each. You follow the same application if you break it all down. You’re taking a cell and you’re growing it up to do something useful, whatever that useful thing. It can be something you put in your mouth to sustain you or it can be something that you inject to keep you alive.”
What, in your opinion, is the most momentous thing to happen in the biotechnology industry?
“I think the most momentous thing to have happened in the biotechnology industry, certainly in the last 18 months as we live through this global pandemic, is the production of COVID-19 vaccines. I think the biotechnology industry, as well as the whole scientific community, is just showing what they can achieve in such a short space of time when everyone puts their heads together. It’s fantastic that our industry and community has been put on the map.”
Do you think the success of the scientific community in the vaccine development and rollout could have an effect on the development and support for new medicines of the future? Could we see an acceleration, for example, in the development of the HIV vaccine or new cancer treatments?
“I think with Coronavirus, the whole world came to a standstill and there had to be a way forward out of this situation. Vaccines have been that step forward and governments have put lots of money behind the vaccine development. It just goes to show what can be achieved when enough money and enough Intelligence is put in one place. So fingers crossed we can now work through the rest of the list with the same urgency.”
What, in your experience, makes BPES stand out from others in the industry?
“What makes us stand out from others is the breadth of different instruments and process equipment that we provide as well as the knowledge that we can bring alongside that. Our team is made up of scientists and engineers who have experience in the biotechnology industry. We’re not just salespeople, or people who sit in offices. We do know what we’re talking about. What’s more, we also have excellent relationships with our suppliers. This means we are able to bring the experts to the table to sit down with our customers when we don’t know the answers to really provide our customers with the best support that we can, in order to improve their processes.”
How has COVID-19 affected the supply chain? Has it made a big difference to BPES?
“COVID-19 has been a challenge for the supply chain. Everybody has heard on the news, the disruptions due to the pandemic but also due to Brexit and the issues with shipping. That’s been tricky to manage and it’s very difficult for our customers to manage when the supply chain just isn’t there for them. But what we always strive to achieve is to keep our customers informed and to let them know whenever there are any changes to expected delivery. We will always keep them in the loop so they can manage any disruptions as best they can. But of course, we appreciate that It is never convenient. We also provide local support, which has been incredibly useful to our customers when they have needed engineering support.”
What makes BPES unique as bioprocess equipment suppliers?
“I think what makes BPES unique as equipment providers is that we really get to know our customers, we want to understand their processes and what they’re trying to achieve with the equipment we provide them. We’re not here just to sell them something and move on. We form excellent working relationships, to understand what our customers are doing and to enable us to support them as best we can.”
What do you like most about being Head of Sales?
“The thing I enjoyed most about my role is speaking to lots of different people, learning about what they’re doing and what they’re trying to achieve. Our customers are doing fantastic things. They’re on the cutting edge of science and bioprocessing; discovering new medicines and new ways of processing. We get to speak to some really brilliant people, I just love hearing about their projects and sharing their excitement in what they’re doing.”
If you didn’t have the job you have now, what would you be doing?
“I think I’d work in process development, to be able to be hands-on with those process changes. But I’d probably only last a day because I would soon miss it here. I have such great variety now!”
Want to find out more about the BPES team? Discover our ‘Inside BPES‘ series today!
