Careers in Discovery

Sam Barker, Somaserve

"For me, the turning point was thinking of networking as part of my job, and realising that people wouldn't look down on me for talking to them and finding out what they're doing. It's their job to do the same thing."

Sam Barker is the VP of Business Development at Somaserve, a drug delivery company developing a transformative nanoparticle platform to tackle the problems caused by biological barriers.

Sam joined us to discuss his career to date, what Business Development means in a Biotech startup and transitioning from a research position into a commercial role.

Enjoy!

Charlotte Casebourne, Theolytics

"Don't worry too much about knowing everything. Coming through education, we're rewarded for being the person that knows the most, being the smartest person in the room, but in an industry as complex as Biotech, you're never going to know everything that you need to. Surrounding yourself with the best people that you can and learning from them so that you can make the best decisions possible is much more important."

Charlotte Casebourne is the CEO of Theolytics, a Biotech company harnessing oncolytic viruses to treat cancer.

Charlotte joined us to discuss her journey so far, solving the problem of in vivo translation, why it's OK not to know what you want to do with your career and the importance of finding your rhythm.

Enjoy!

Steve Allin, Charnwood Molecular

"Being a Chief Executive is like being a conductor of a high-performing orchestra. My job is to employ people who are the best in their field and then give them the resources and freedom to develop & grow."

Steve Allin is the CEO of Charnwood Molecular, a rapidly growing drug discovery CRO with a fascinating history.

Steve joined us to talk about taking private equity investment into an established business, stepping from a successful academic career into running the business full time and the importance of building a culture based on input and development.

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Stephen Ward, Cell & Gene Therapy Catapult

"Chance, serendipity...these things play a part in career development, however if you're not interested in what you do you may become very successful, but I'd challenge that you won't be as content as you'd like to be."

Stephen Ward is the Chief Manufacturing Officer at the Cell & Gene Therapy Catapult, part of a unique network of organisations set up to promote and support the Life Sciences industry in the UK.

Stephen talked with us about his career, the booming Cell & Gene Therapy sector in this country and why manufacturing is a great career option for scientists.

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Martin Bittner, Arctoris

"Right now in drug discovery, we talk about failure rates of 95%, and that situation's not sustainable for two reasons. One is that a lot of the easy targets have already been worked on, which means we need to think more creatively about drug discovery. At the same time, we're moving very rapidly towards precision medicine, which means we need to discover more drugs. We must redesign the process."

Martin Bittner is the CEO and co-founder of Arctoris, where he and his team have developed the world's first fully automated drug discovery platform.

Martin talked to us about the origins of the company, how robotics and automation encourage scientific reproducibility, and where he found his mentors.

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Nirmesh Patel

"One of the things that people don't do enough, especially in Biotech, is try to think of the market problem. Rather than going from your bit of technology and trying to fit that into the market, to get explosive growth we need to flip that on its head and think about the market first."

Nirmesh Patel was one of the original founders of Cambridge Cancer Genomics and has recently transitioned into VC with The Venture Collective, while playing a key role in the Cancer Tech Accelerator.

Nirmesh joined us to talk about his journey so far, crossing over into VC, the importance of activation energy and his learns from startup success.

Enjoy!

David Bunton, Reprocell

"There's a difference between having an invention, and innovation. You might have the best technology in the world, but someone's got to buy it."

David Bunton is one of the founders of Biopta, now known as Reprocell Europe, a leader in stem cell technology for drug discovery.

David talked to us about his career to date, the latest developments in stem cells, the importance of teaching to his research career and why there's no substitute for getting out and speaking to customers.

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Pete Joyce, Grey Wolf Therapeutics

"You spend 95% of your time in R&D dealing with things not working or your idea not being correct. It's critical to be prepared and plan ahead for both success and failure."

Pete Joyce is the CEO of Grey Wolf Therapeutics, an immuno-oncology company taking a novel, tumour-targeting approach to treating cancer.

Pete joined us on Careers in Discovery to talk about his career, the virtual Biotech model, the importance of values and culture and how a stint in Regulatory Affairs influenced his perspective on his research.

Enjoy!