Board of Directors

Dr. Jane Osbourn OBE

CHAIR

Jane has over 30 years of experience in biologics discovery and development. Most recently, she was Vice President for R&D and Site Leader at MedImmune (AstraZeneca), formerly Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT), where she contributed to the development of phage display technology.

Jane is a scientific leader in the field of antibody engineering, and has made a significant contribution to the discovery and development of 8 marketed drugs and over 40 clinical candidates. Jane is passionate about science education and the development of the UK biotech sector and has served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the BioIndustry Association for the past four years. She is currently a Director of Babraham Bioscience Technologies, and also a Director of Cambridge Enterprise. She was awarded Scrip’s Lifetime Achievement Award and an OBE in 2019 for services to drug discovery, development and biotechnology.

Dr. Darrin M. Disley OBE

CEO

Darrin is a renowned scientist, entrepreneur, angel investor and enterprise champion who has started, grown or invested in over 40 start-up life science, technology and social enterprises, raising $525 million USD in business financing and closing $600 million USD in commercial deals. He was CEO of Horizon Discovery Group plc for 11 years, during which he led the Company from start-up through a $113 million USD IPO, and rapid scale-up powered by multiple acquisitions of US peer companies to become a global market leader in gene editing and gene modulation technologies. He was awarded a lifetime Queens Award for Enterprise Promotion in 2016 for his work in promoting enterprise across the UK and appointed OBE in 2018 for his services to business and enterprise in the healthcare sector.

Prof. Julian Gough

CSO (Co-founder)

Julian is a biotech entrepreneur and world expert in bioinformatics. He graduated his PhD in molecular biology from the University of Cambridge and was a research fellow at Stanford University. He is now a Programme Leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge and Professor of Bioinformatics at the University of Bristol. He has successfully started a number of biotech companies.

Dr. Karin Schmitt

CBO

Karin has over 25 years’ experience with a sustained track record of successful leadership roles within the life sciences, biotech and therapeutic industries at Exelixis, Inc., Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Horizon Discovery Group plc and PredictImmune Ltd. Karin has brought over 20 innovative products to market internationally, across a wide scientific spectrum, with recent emphasis on clinical products and has additional experience in legal, commercial and regulatory pathways. Karin obtained her PhD in molecular biology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, followed by three years of post-doctoral research in genetics at the University of Cambridge.

Alice Newcombe-Ellis

Ahren Innovation Capital

Alice Newcombe-Ellis is the Founding & Managing Partner of Ahren Innovation Capital.

Alice has over a decade of investing experience, including at TPG Capital (leading global private equity firm with >$70BN AUM) and Lansdowne Partners (leading investment firm with >$15BN AUM). Her predominant investing focus has been in tech and disruptive healthcare.

Alice holds a Double First Class degree in Mathematics, and Master’s in Mathematics/Physics from the University of Cambridge. She was a Fulbright Scholar and a Baker Scholar at Harvard Business School.

Alastair Kilgour

Parkwalk

Before co-founding Parkwalk in 2009, Alastair was a Partner of Lazard LLP, Director of BNP and a Founder Partner of Ark Securities. He has analysed and advised both private and public companies on strategy, development, fund-raising and exits. He oversees the investment process at Parkwalk and he sits on various portfolio company Boards including, Congenica, Phoremost, Predictimmune, Aqdot and Mirriad.