Sector Experience
Pharmaceuticals
A significant proportion of my career has been spent working in and for the pharmaceutical industry. I have worked as a bench researcher as well as holding middle and senior management positions in clinical research, drug development and marketing. I have consulted widely to some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. As an investor and entrepreneur I have been i involved with several early stage drug discovery companies.
Drug discovery
My research interests involved anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory drugs. More recently I have been involved with a wide range of drug discovery companies as an investor, consultant or advisor. Specific current interests include biomarkers and personalised medicine, in silico drug design and new screening systems. In 2006 I was appointed as part time Chief Executive of Equinox Pharma a drug discovery company based upon leading edge machine-learning approaches from Imperial College, London.
Drug delivery
I have developed a specialism in this area having been instrumental in taking PA Consulting Group into this market – they are now one of the leading independent developers of drug delivery technology. I also helped PowderJect to IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and was the founder of Vectura, which also listed on AIM in 2004. As well as numerous consulting assignments in the sector I am now a director of or adviser to a number of non-competing emerging drug delivery companies. These include Critical Pharamaceuticals (controlled release), VariDose (inhalation) and Nanomerics (drug solublisation).
Medical devices
I have a broad experience of this sector including wound care, orthopaedics, medical imaging, minimally invasive surgery and cell therapy. I have founded and lead investments in companies in the sector as well as holding senior marketing positions with Johnson & Johnson the world’s leading medical device company. Current interests include monitoring devices and novel imaging systems.
Diagnostics
As well as having sold diagnostics to UK hospital laboratories I have undertaken a number of consulting and advisory assignments in the sector including on biosensors, consumer diagnostics and on a wide range of new diagnostics technologies.
Biologicals
My involvement with the biotechnology industry goes back to 1986 when I joined PA. I undertook strategic consulting assignments with some of the leading companies at the time including Genentech and Cetus Corporation (subsequently sold to Chiron). In the early 1990’s I assisted a number of UK based biotechnology companies including Chiroscience, Cantab, Biocompatibles and Xenova to IPO. Since that time I have lead investments in several companies and consulted to and advised many more. I have gained specific recent experience of vaccines through my Chairmanship of Adjuvantix Ltd. I am also Chairman of CTM BioTech one of the leading independent provider of non-GMP bioprocess development services.
