Team Members
All Ithaka Team members have senior level
experience derived from working with emerging companies through to
SMEs and blue chip clients:
Dr Paul Rodgers: Founder and
Managing Director
Paul is an
entrepreneur with thirty years experience in the life sciences
industry and leads Ithaka's work in Biomarkers and Personalised
Medicine, and Regenerative Medicine.
- Paul has experience in the healthcare (human and veterinary),
agriculture and food sectors of biotechnology and in a range of
biomedical businesses.
- He has co-founded and raised finance of over £30 million for
ten biotechnology companies from a broad spectrum of sources,
including investment funds, grants and corporate deals.
- He has extensive experience in corporate and R&D management
for a range of technology businesses, strategic business
development, and licensing and protection of intellectual property.
He has led the negotiation of significant corporate deals in the
pharmaceutical, diagnostics, biosensor and agriculture
sectors.
- Paul has worked with a broad range of academic institutions to
assist in the exploitation of their intellectual property in the
pharmaceuticals, sensors, agricultural, food and fine chemicals
sectors of biotechnology.
- He has conducted technical and commercial due diligence on
behalf of a range of investors, which has included the appraisal of
technology as well as conducting market assessment and
research.
- He is currently Executive Chairman of Psynova Neurotech Ltd a
spin-out of Cambridge University commercialising research on
biomarkers for neuropsychiatric disorders. Paul has played a
significant role in helping take Psynova from a concept through to
the launch of VeriPsych™, the first and only blood test to aid a
psychiatrist in the diagnosis of recent-onset schizophrenia.
- He is also a non-executive director of Ziva Bioscience Ltd
(reproductive healthcare), Paramata Ltd (remote sensing technology)
and Enterprise Medical Ltd (an innovation company set up by an NHS
Trust).
- Other companies that Paul has co-founded and served as a Board
Director include Axis Genetics (human and veterinary vaccines),
Axordia (regenerative medicine), Asterion (therapeutic proteins)
and Creative Gene Technology (agricultural biotech).
Gavin Scott Duncan - Founder and Non-Executive
Director
Gavin founded the healthcare company Hydron Ltd through a £30
million Management Buy-in of the contact lens business of Allergan
Inc. where he played a leading role in growing the business as
Commercial Director before its acquisition by Biocompatibles.
- Gavin has senior management experience in pharmaceuticals,
nutritional foods and medical devices with a track record of
success at both strategic and operational levels.
Sue Buchanan MBA: Non-Executive
Director
Formerly a Managing Consultant with PA Consulting Group's Life
Sciences and Technologies Practice in Cambridge, Sue's experience
spans marketing and management consulting in sectors in the life
sciences industry and in NHS management. Sue now leads Ithaka's
work with public sector clients in developing strategies to promote
and develop technology commercialisation.
- She has worked internationally with a wide range of technology
focused businesses for clients spanning global corporations SMEs
and investment institutions focusing on the interface between
R&D, marketing and commercial strategy and including the
management of technical and commercial due diligence.
- Her experience includes 11 years in a variety of strategic
marketing, commercial and general management roles in the medical
devices and biopharmaceutical industries, including roles as a
Director of Marketing for an early stage biopharmaceutical company
and management roles in the NHS.
- Sue now works primarily with SMEs across biomedical technology
based businesses, including university spin-out companies, and with
public sector clients at national and regional levels, developing
strategic infrastructure and support services for technology
commercialisation.
- Sue has recently led a number of projects for public sector
organisations such as the Scottish Funding Council and has worked
with Scottish Enterprise's Proof of Concept Programme which seeks
to create companies from life science and biomedical research
across Scotland's universities.
Dr John Adair: Consultant
John is a PhD molecular biologist with 30 years experience in
the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and leads Ithaka's
work in commercialising Therapeutic Proteins.
- John has an extensive background in pharmaceutical R&D,
including bench research at GD Searle and Celltech comprising
design and construction of novel biopharmaceuticals and cell line
development for their production. This work has led to the
development of a significant intellectual property portfolio at
Celltech and the subsequent approval of two biopharmaceutical
products.
- He has experience in the management of research and
pre-clinical development at Celltech, Axis Genetics and Scotgen
Biopharmaceuticals and in consultancy work for a number of UK
biopharmaceutical companies including Aeres Biomedical, Antisoma,
Avidex, Cambridge Antibody Technology, Haptogen and UCB Celltech.
He has also provided consultancy services for the Medical Research
Council and BBSRC.
- John's clients include major companies, emerging and
established SME's and academics.
- He has also led and participated in Ithaka's wide range of
pharmaceutical and biopharmaceuticals assignments focusing in
particular on technical due diligence, including intellectual
property matters, for clients such as for NVM, YFM, NESTA, Apposite
Capital and the Wellcome Trust.
- He has co-authored several publications in the field, most
recently: "The Commercial Development of Antibodies as
Drugs" Eaton & Adair in "Nanomedicine - Basic and clinical
applications in diagnostics and therapy" published by Karger AG,
(2011) vol 2 pp185-196
Dr Richard Cumming:
Consultant
Richard has over 20 years experience in product development,
product management & marketing within Amersham International,
Amersham-Pharmacia Biotech General Electric (GE) Healthcare.
Richard leads Ithaka's consultancy work in life science and
biomedical research tools, e.g. proteomics and genomics.
- Richard has held senior commercial roles including regional,
global marketing & product management of molecular biology
& proteomics consumables, instruments & research systems
for the academic, biotechnology & Pharmaceutical sectors. His
most recent position at GE Healthcare was Global Marketing
Director, Protein Sciences segment.
- He has also set up the global marketing organization for a new
multi-million dollar business segment, focused on proteomics &
genomics research consumables & equipment (Laboratory Products,
Amersham).
- He has delivered assignments for both major multinationals and
for emerging companies, including interim and part-time marketing
positions for University spinout companies including deltaDot
(commercialising biomolecule separation and analytical technologies
from Imperial College), ProteinLogic (a Cambridge University
spinout company developing novel biomarkers) and CrossGen (a
Nottingham University spinout commercialising software tools for
analysis of gene arrays).
Paula Wittels MA MSc :
Consultant
An experienced
marketing and business director with a track record in developing
and implementing commercial strategies, Paula is also Ithaka's lead
in life science diagnostics and medical devices.
- Paula has a proven record in growing sales and profit, in
conducting technology and commercial assessments, marketing
planning and successful product launch.
- She has particular expertise in life science diagnostics and
significant expertise in medical technologies in orthopaedics,
cardiovascular and wound care.
- She has worked with a wide range of companies including
mentoring new business start-ups commercialising novel technologies
in these areas and has conducted extensive due diligence on behalf
of investors.
- Senior roles with Amersham International, Pfizer Hospital
Products and Quintiles Consulting, leading the development and
marketing of novel diagnostics and medical devices
- Paula has worked with a wide range of companies including
start-ups developing business plans and market access
strategies.
- She has extensive experience with the development and
commercialization of new technologies, including protein biomarker
immunoassays.
- Working on Ithaka's project for e2V Paula worked with the
company to identify the biomarker assay that would best suited to
showcase the company's technology.
- Similarly for Stratophase Paula worked with the company to
explore analytes in the clinical arena matching the technology's
strengths to market requirements.
Dr Bill Primrose:
Consultant
Bill is a PhD
biological chemist with 25 years postdoctoral experience at the
interface between chemistry and the life sciences, and between
academia and industry. He has a broadly-based background in SMEs
across a range of life science areas, with a particular interest
and experience in small molecule drug discovery and development,
and he leads Ithaka's activities in these areas.
- He has supervisory, line management, project management, and
business development experience, knowledge of a number of
therapeutic areas and direct personal understanding of building
innovative companies from scratch.
- He led medicinal chemistry and structural biology teams at
PanTherix, the antibiotic drug discovery spin out from the
University of Leicester which he co-founded. He was active in all
aspects of the company's development, including fund-raising,
licensing and initiating industrial and academic
collaborations.
- Bill is Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Group of the
Aeropath EU-funded consortium of academic and small company
researchers, who are using structural and computational methods to
identify new antibacterial agents against Pseudomonas
aeruginosa.
- From 2007 to the present day, Bill has been CEO of Theryte Ltd,
an Ithaka client company, developing novel oncology drugs. He
secured new private equity funding, and initiated partnering and
licensing discussions with a number of biotechnology and
pharmaceutical companies. He also manages the R&D, including
out-sourcing target identification, synthetic chemistry,
pharmacokinetics, toxicology and in vivo studies.
- In 2005, Bill and an ex-colleague from PanTherix founded SioKem
Ltd., a contract chemistry provider to UK and European
biotechnology companies and research institutes, providing access
to high quality affordable organic synthetic facilities in
China.
- Other work carried out with colleagues at Ithaka includes
business strategy development and fund raising for client
companies; technology and market assessment; and due diligence
projects.
Dr Mark Treherne:
Consultant
Mark has been
actively involved in the pharmaceutical industry for over 25 years.
Mark has now helped raise more than £100 million for numerous
pharmaceutical businesses around the world and was formerly
Chairman of ERBI Limited (now One Nucleus), which is a
not-for-profit organisation that represents the biotechnology
companies based around Cambridge, UK.
- Mark initially trained as a neuropharmacologist at Cambridge
University and previously led the neurodegeneration research group
at Pfizer's main European research facility at Sandwich, UK, until
1997.
- He then a co-founded and was Chief Executive of Cambridge Drug
Discovery Limited (CDD), leading the acquisition of CDD for £28
million by AiM-listed BioFocus plc (BioFocus), where he then became
a Commercial Director, driving significant growth of its profitable
services business that reached a valuation of £100 million on AiM.
BioFocus is now the service division of Galapagos NV.
- Since leaving his full-time position at BioFocus plc in
February 2002 to remain on the Board as a non-executive director,
Mark has now served on the Boards of over 10 private and public
biopharmaceutical companies.
- He is currently CEO of Senexis Limited, a Manchester University
spin out, and on the Boards of Domain Therapeutics SA, Cyclofluidic
Limited, Population Genetics Technologies Limited and Bioceros
BV.
- He has taken NCE's and biological products from inception,
through discovery and on into clinical development and has a strong
interest in using biomarkers as surrogate end points and population
genetics to selects patent sub-groups to facilitate clinical
trials.
Dr Malcolm Rhodes:
Consultant
Malcolm is
experienced in commercialisation of academic Life Sciences research
in Pharmaceutical, Diagnostics, Environmental, Fine Chemical and
Biopharmaceutical businesses. His specialist expertise in
bioprocessing supports Ithaka's assignments in Therapeutic
Antibodies.
- Currently based in Edinburgh, Malcolm is employed by the
HeathTech and Medicines KTN (a Knowledge Transfer Network set up by
the Technology Strategy Board to promote the development of the UK
biotechnology, pharmaceutical and health technologies industries),
where he has been granted scope to undertake external consultancy
projects.
- Malcolm has acted as a mentor to the recipient of a BBSRC/RSE
Enterprise Fellowship at Manchester University.
- Malcolm is experienced in commercialisation of academic Life
Sciences research in the Pharmaceutical (small molecules and
biologics) and Diagnostics sectors.
- Malcolm has held senior R&D, manufacturing and quality
positions in companies such as Celltech, Serologicals and
Pfizer.