Best Startup
At Best Startup UK we track over 130,000 UK startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United Kingdom based Executive Director operating in the Biotechnology space. If you think a Executive Director is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.co.uk.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Companies House UK, Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Claus Bendtsen
Executive Director of AstraZeneca
Claus Bendtsen heads Quantitative Biology as part of Discovery Sciences within AstraZeneca. His department provides global support in areas of informatics, mathematical modelling, image analytics and non-clinical statistics. Prior to joining AstraZeneca he held positions at Novartis and Merck & Co. Earlier in his career he co-founded three start-ups and worked in academia. He holds a Ph.D. in applied mathematics and an MBA.
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About AstraZeneca: AstraZeneca is a global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets prescription medicines.
Dennis Engelke
Executive Director, Country Manager Switzerland & Austria of Jazz Pharmaceuticals
Dennis Engelke is the director of business analysis and insight at [Jazz Pharmaceuticals](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/jazz-pharmaceuticals), an international biopharmaceutical company. Engelke holds an MBA from Uppsala University and an MBA from the University of Hamburg.
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About Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Jazz Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company that identifies, develops and commercializes innovative treatments.
Michael Brennan
Co Founder & Non-Executive Director of BenevolentAI
Mr. Michael Brennan co-founded BenevolentAI Limited in 2013 and serves as its Head of Corporate Development. Mr. Brennan co-founded Novum Securities in 2006 and served as it Chief Executive Officer. In 2009, Mr. Brennan joined Proximagen Group plc, as Head of Corporate Development, where he was focused on fund raising, corporate transactions and business development. Mr. Brennan has over 14 years of equity capital markets experience in the City focusing on the small and mid cap market. He is a Senior corporate finance executive with over 15 years City based capital markets experience. The majority of his time was spent with Evolution Securities where he served as a Director in their corporate finance department and has significant transactional experience including M&A and takeover work. He has been a Non-Executive Director at Litebulb Group Limited since September 13, 2013.
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About BenevolentAI, SimplyPayMe: BenevolentAI is a developer of artificial intelligence and computational medicine technologies.
Chris Wood
Non Executive Director of MiNA Therapeutics
Chris Wood has more than 20 years of experience in the biotechnology sector, having founded, managed and successfully exited 4 companies. Chris is Executive Chairman and Medical Director of NuCana. He was co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Bioenvision Inc from 1999, and under his leadership Bioenvision grew from a modest entrepreneurial venture to a leading biotech company (NASDAQ: BIV), with a market capitalisation of $345 million. Bioenvision was acquired by Genzyme Corporation in October 2007. Chris was co-founder of Medirace Ltd, a start up biotechnology company, which later became Medeva PLC, traded on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, and was acquired by Celltech Group PLC (now UCB) for £554 million. Chris Wood is an honorary Professor at Imperial College London, holds an M.D. from the University of Wales School of Medicine and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Chris Wood’s specialty interests are Cancer and Molecular Biology and he has acquired an international reputation for his published work in these areas.
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About Medannex Ltd, NuCana BioMed: MiNA Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapeutic medicines to harness gene activation mechanisms.
Alan Barrell
Non-Executive Director of Eagle Genomics
Alan Barrell has spent almost 30 years in senior executive positions in technology based industries and has become one of Cambridge’s most articulate promoters of entrepreneurship. He was a founder shareholder in Library House Ltd, and is now Entrepreneur in Residence at the University’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning and Visiting Professor of Enterprise at the University of Bedfordshire School of Graduate Business Studies. He is also Distinguished Guest Professor at Xiamen University, Visiting Professor at Shanghai College of Science and Technology and at the Fujian International School of Economics and Business, Fuzhou, all in China. He has taught at Tsinghua University Beijing and Minjiang University, Fuzhou City. Other appointments include Senior Enterprise Fellow, University of Essex, International Fellow, Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge, and International Fellow, Laurea University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki.
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About Cambridge Associates, Eagle Genomics: Eagle Genomics is a enterprise software solutions company to enable the management, orchestration and exploitation of life sciences data.
Ajan Reginald
Executive Director & Co-Founder of Cell Therapy
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About Celixir, Cell Therapy: Cell Therapy Ltd is a British pioneer in Regenerative Medicine.
Chris Jones
Non Executive Director & Special Advisor of MediSieve
Chris Jones joined Elasmogen as Executive Chairman in 2016.
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About Elasmogen, MediSieve, Mologic: MediSieve is a therapeutics company developing a platform technology for the treatment of blood-borne diseases.
Berwyn Clarke
Non Executive Director of PBD Biotech
Berwyn is an experienced senior manager in the pharmaceutical and diagnostics industry. In 2005 he founded a new diagnostics company in the UK, Lab21 Limited, prior to establishing network of diagnostics industry interests in 2013. He is currently Chairman of NALIA Systems Ltd and PBD Biotech Ltd and non-executive director at Protein Logic. He is currently also Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Cardiff University and is a senior advisor to the Welsh Government Life Sciences sector.
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About Glyconics, PBD Biotech: PBD Biotech specialises in novel phage-based diagnostics for the veterinary, agriculture and human health sectors
Ozgur Tuncer
CEO & Executive Director of Stablepharma Ltd
Ozgur Tuncer CEO & Executive Director – two decades of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry including working for blue chip companies such as Pfizer, IQVIA and Pharmacia. Most recently, he was Global Vice President in IQVIA, and strategic adviser to life sciences investors. In addition to his role in Stablepharma, Özgür is an Investment Partner with Ascension Ventures.
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About Stablepharma Ltd: An innovative Biotech, developing a wide range of reformulated thermostable and fridge free StablevaX vaccines
John Clarkson
Non Executive Director of Binx Health
John Clarkson has been in healthcare and diagnostics businesses for the past 15 years and has a background in molecular biology. He co-founded Molecular Sensing plc in 1999 where he was Commercial Director and then Technical Director. Following the successful development of their DNA analysis system, he joined the US-based diagnostics company Osmetech plc when they acquired Molecular in 2004. John led the formation of Atlas Genetics in 2005 as a joint spin-out from the University of Bath and Osmetech plc. Atlas is developing rapid tests for infectious diseases such as the sexually transmitted infections Chlamydia and gonorrhea, and hospital acquired infections. The company is VC backed and raised £18.5m in 2011 in a series B financing round led by Novartis Venture Funds.
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About Binx Health: Binx Health creates new categories of healthcare solutions that deliver on-demand testing to people where they need it most.
Susan Searle
Non-Executive Director of Horizon Discovery
Susan Searle is Chief Executive Officer of Imperial Innovations Group plc, an AIM listed company founded by Imperial College. Imperial Innovations is an integrated business combining the activities of technology transfer, incubation and investment across healthcare, engineering, environment and IT sectors. Susan has been instrumental in growing the business since joining the Ltd company in 1994. Previously she worked at Montech (Australia), Signet Group plc, Bank of Nova Scotia and Shell Chemicals Limited in the UK and internationally in a variety of business development and commercial roles. She has served on the boards of 15 spin-out companies including TurboGenset Inc. and sits on the boards of Thiakis Limited, EVO Electric Limited and i2india Holdings Limited. She has an MA in Chemistry from Exeter College, Oxford University.
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About : Horizon is a gene editing company that designs & engineers genetically-modified cells, applying them to advance human health.
Monika Tomecka
Executive Director, CEO & Co-Founder of uFraction8
Dr Monika Tomecka has a PhD with a background in biology, genetics and biomedical research. This gives her insight into the science and operations of uFraction8’s customer segments. She is able to converse at an appropriate level to engage and sell the benefits of uFraction8 technology.
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About uFraction8: uFraction8 develops microfluidics-based filtration systems to help bio-manufacturers to harvest biomass sustainably and more efficiently.
Charles Hindson
Non Executive Director of Diaceutics
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About Diaceutics: Diaceutics Group leverages analytics, software, services and consulting.
