Heather Hobson stepped down from her role as head of regulation and access at the Office for Life Sciences earlier this month.
And this week Hobson confirmed she has joined GSK as director, global corporate government affairs and policy.
In a post on LinkedIn, she said: “Today marks the end of my first week in a new role. After eight years in the Civil Service working across a variety of life sciences focused roles, I have jumped into the world of pharma.”
Prior to joining the OLS (part of the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) in 2022, Hobson was a senior policy adviser at HM Treasury. She previously spent a year at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, where she was a policy officer.
Hobson has a Master of Laws in biotechnology law and ethics, and a BSc in biochemistry from the University of Sheffield.
Commenting on her time working in government, she said: “I’ve had the privilege of working on health and business spending (including 3 SRs and many Budgets!), Brexit preparations, the Covid response.”
She added that she also worked on “developing the first phase of the Mental Health Goals programme, leading the GCSA regulatory review for life sciences and driving forward key policy areas in the Life Sciences Sector Plan.”
In her post on LinkedIn, Hobson said: “I’m incredibly proud of my time in government and my role in shaping and delivering work on some of the most complex and high-stakes issues, with an array of absolutely fantastic colleagues.”
Her new role at GSK is part of the company’s corporate affairs department. Hobson is “responsible primarily for a senior GSK leader’s external engagement, thought leadership, and profile-raising activities including stakeholder events,” according to the job specification.
“This involves a geographical focus on the EU and UK as well as opportunities to work with GSK teams in markets around the world,” it adds.
She will also work closely with Audrey Yvernault, vice president global corporate government affairs & policy, on geopolitical policy and analysis.
The role also involves supporting the “delivery of effective and targeted engagement with key embassies and diplomatic networks,” the job specification states.
GSK uses Edelman and Hanbury Strategy to support its public affairs work, according to the latest edition of the PRCA Professional Lobbying Register.