London, 14 December 2012 – The Cell Therapy Catapult (CTC), which is focused on the development of the UK cell therapy industry to increase the nation’s health and wealth, has made three experienced appointments to its management team. Dr Natalie Mount, who was previously at Pfizer, joins as Chief Clinical Officer, Chief Operating Officer Dr Stephen Ward was previously at Stabilitech Ltd, and Chief Business Officer Matthew Durdy joins from Aqix Ltd.
As Chief Clinical Officer at the Cell Therapy Catapult, Dr Mount is responsible for clinical development, clinical trials and regulatory activities. She has over 16 years of experience in the pharmaceutical Industry, with significant expertise in stem cell programmes. At Pfizer’s Neusentis Research Unit, Dr Mount managed the late preclinical and clinical phase development of Pfizer’s regenerative medicines, and she has a first class degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge plus a PhD from University College, London.
Chief Operating Officer Dr Ward will manage the resources required for preclinical development and manufacturing, programme delivery, and office and laboratory facilities. He has over 17 years of R&D and manufacturing experience across industry and academia. At Stabilitech Ltd, he led the exploitation of its vaccine and biopharmaceutical stabilisation platform, while at Onyvax Ltd he was responsible for the development and manufacture of its cell-based cancer vaccine. Stephen has a BSc from the University of Birmingham and a PhD from the Medical School of Southampton University.
As Chief Business Officer, Matthew Durdy is responsible for commercial evaluation and negotiation of new projects, developing funding streams and financial reporting. He will also act as Company Secretary. Matthew was previously on secondment to the CTC from his role as CEO of Aqix Ltd, which is developing a synthetic serum into a medicinal product. His early career was in private equity and investment banking, where he was involved in approximately $3bn worth of new investment. He has a BA in Natural Sciences from the University of Oxford and an MBA from Chicago Booth, University of Chicago.
Keith Thompson, CEO of the Cell Therapy Catapult, said: “I am delighted to welcome Natalie, Stephen and Matthew to our management team. Their experience and expertise will play a key role in helping the Cell Therapy Catapult to deliver on its objective of building a thriving cell therapy industry in the UK. We expect to announce more appointments in due course, as we gear up for more operational activity in 2013.”