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Graduate case studies

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Steve - 
Chief Operating Officer

Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

About the job

Main responsibilities

I run day to day activities;
Oversee all science related activities;
Manage contract research organisations;
Manage contracts;
Manage intellectual Property;
Manage consultants in research, development and clinical areas;
Board member and board reports;
Business development activities;
Manage IT, BusDev and financial consultants.

Typical day

Oversee experimental plans;
Designing experiments;
Analysing results;
Various development activities.

What do I enjoy about my job?

Every day is different.
Science is exciting and can be a bit of a roller coaster ride.

Challenging aspects

Managing a diverse array of activities.

Why did this area of work appeal to me?

Culmination of years of experience in academia, big Pharma and Biotech led to my overriding goal of setting up my own company.

Skills/qualifications I use in my job?

Knowledge and experience of all aspects of drug development with an emphasis on therapeutic antibodies: monoclonal and domain antibody selection, GMP manufacture, clinical development and FDA approval process.

Extensive research experience in a number of disease areas (emphasis in oncology and immunology) with a strong peer-reviewed publication record, (author of 60+ publications).

Innovative thinker (40+ patents).
IP and business development experience.


Career information

Brief history since leaving University

Assistant Professor: Baylor college of Medicine, USA.
Project Leader: Amersham International.
Manager of Immunology R&D: Flemming Gmbh.
Head of antibody technologies and Immunology: SmithKline Beecham.
Head of high-throughput biology Europe: GSK.
Director antibody discovery: Oxford Glycosciences.
Senior Director: Domantis and GSK.
Senior Director: Kymab.
COO and Founder: Capella Bioscience.

Where do I see myself in the future?

After retiring from Capella I will probably do consulting.


Advice to students

My piece of advice to students

Get into Biotechnology at an early stage; high risk but high reward.



Send Steve a question about their career.


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Last updated: 05 Jul 2017