London, 17th January2022 – The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult), an independent technology and innovation organisation, announces today the appointment of Ian McCubbin OBE, CBE, to its Board of Non-Executive Directors as Chairman, effective 1st February 2022. With over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and as a pharmacist by training, Ian has worked for industry leading companies including GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
Since retiring from GSK and in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Ian led the manufacturing activities of the UK Government’s Vaccines Task Force (VTF) between February 2020 and June 2021. As part of the VTF he also helped to support the due diligence team involved in vaccine selection. Ian retired from GSK in 2017 where he was Senior Vice President of North America, Japan and Global Pharma Supply within the Global Manufacturing & Supply (GMS). In this role, Ian was responsible for 17 factories and 7,000 employees globally whose role within GSK was to supply the new product and pharmaceutical sales pipeline.
Ian currently chairs the Manufacturing Advisory Board for Wave 1 of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund in support of Innovate UK. He is also Chairman of RoslinCT, an Edinburgh based cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO). Previously, Ian chaired the Advanced Therapy Manufacturing Taskforce (ATMT), a group responsible for an action plan to anchor commercial scale manufacturing in the UK which has subsequently been adopted in full as part of the UK Government’s Life Sciences Industrial Strategy.
Today’s appointment of Ian McCubbin, OBE, CBE follows the CGT Catapult’s announcement on 22 September 2021 where Dr John Brown, CBE, FRSE, announced his intention to retire as Chairman of the CGT Catapult having led the Board since the inception of the CGT Catapult in 2012.
Dr John Brown, Chairman of CGT Catapult, commented:
“Over the last nine years at the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult it has been my privilege to work with a fantastic team. Through their work in collaboration with industry, academia and government, cell and gene therapies are now recognised for their ability to cure diseases which were previously untreatable, and the UK is recognised as a leader in the field. The pace of new developments is increasing and I am delighted that Ian has joined us and confident that he will ensure the CGT Catapult remains a leader in its field.”
Ian McCubbin, incoming Chairman of CGT Catapult, commented:
“I am very honoured and excited to be taking up this role with the CGT Catapult and look forward to building on the excellent track record that John and the CGT Catapult team have created. Cell and gene therapies offer transformational medical benefits to patients and economic growth opportunity for the UK. It’s an incredible and exciting time for these innovative treatments and I sincerely hope I can help the CGT Catapult team continue to be at the forefront in a global context, in innovation, translation and uptake of these life changing treatments.”
About the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult
The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult is an independent innovation and technology organisation committed to the advancement of cell and gene therapies with a vision of a thriving industry delivering life changing advanced therapies to the world. Its aim is to create powerful collaborations which overcome challenges to the advancement of the sector. With over 400 experts covering all aspects of advanced therapies, it applies its unique capabilities and assets, collaborates with academia, industry and healthcare providers to develop new technology and innovation. The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult works with Innovate UK. For more information, please visit ct.catapult.org.uk or visit http://www.gov.uk/innovate-uk.
FTI Consulting for CGT Catapult
George Kendrick +44 (0) 203 727 1411/ George.Kendrick@fticonsulting.com
Alexander Davis +44 (0) 203 727 1729 / Alexander.Davis@fticonsulting.com