Our Board

Dr J Barrie Ward, Non-Executive Chairman

Dr Ward is currently Chairman of the AVANT Board of Directors. He is also Chairman of the Boards of Directors of Onyvax Limited and CellCentric Limited and a director of Biotica Technology Limited.  He  was Chief Executive Officer of KuDOS Pharmaceuticals Limited from 1999 until January 2006 when the company was acquired by AstraZeneca. KuDOS was focussed on the discovery and development of inhibitors of DNA repair as new treatments for cancer.  Prior to this appointment he was Chairman and CEO of Virus Research Institute Inc., which in 1998 merged with T-Cell Sciences Inc. to form AVANT Immunotherapeutics Inc.  From 1984-94 Dr Ward served as Director of the Microbiology Division of Glaxo Research and Development, with responsibility for infectious disease research.  Dr Ward holds a BSc and a PhD in microbial biochemistry from the University of Bath.

Dr Roland Kozlowski, Non-Executive Director

Roland Kozlowski received a first class honours degree from the University of Bath and a PhD from the University of Cambridge. He is a bioentrepreneur who has worked in the industry for approaching two decades. Roland has held a number of operational roles including most recently Chief Executive Officer and a founder of Lectus Therapeutics Limited (investor exit via asset sale to UCB in Q4, 2011), Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Sense Proteomic Limited (trade sale to Procognia Limited in Q1, 2003). In the mid 1990s Roland worked with Oxford Molecular PLC on their cornerstone deal he negotiated with Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. During his career Roland has gained considerable transactional experience ranging from company sale, purchase, financing and in- and out-licensing and commercialisation of technology. In the past Roland ran a Research Groups at the University of Oxford and University of Bristol where subsequently he was a Visiting Industrial Professor. He has published and patented in the field of ion channel physiology and pharmacology. Roland has served on the boards of a number of companies including the Bio-Industry Association in the UK. Roland is presently non-executive director of Lectus Therapeutics Limited, Chief Strategy Officer of BTM Mazowsze Sp. z o. o. a company set up to commercialize innovation emerging from the leading life science research institutions in Warsaw and President and owner of Life Science Biznes Consulting (LSBC) Sp. z o. o. a Central European Strategic Advisory Firm.

Professor Michael Spyer, Non-Executive Director

Professor Spyer was appointed the first Vice-Provost (Enterprise) of University College London (one of London Genetics' founding institutions) in  2006.  He works on knowledge transfer strategy, the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation in UCL. Professor Spyer is a neuroscientist with extensive research accomplishments in the field of the central nervous control of the heart, circulation and ventilation. In 1980 Professor Spyer was appointed to the Sophia Jex-Blake Chair of Physiology and Headship of the Department of Physiology in the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine. In 1993 he was appointed Head of the joint Department of Physiology of UCL and the Royal Free and upon the merger of the Royal Free with University College Medical School was made Dean of the Royal Free Campus. In 2001 he took up the post of Dean of the Royal Free & University College Medical School and in 2002 he was appointed Vice-Provost (Biomedicine) of University College London. As a consequence he was involved in managing for UCL the interface between the University and NHS. Professor Spyer is involved in the exploitation of IP generated in UCL through his Directorship of UCL Business plc, chairs the Bloomsbury Bioseed Fund (a venture fund supporting several research institutes in London), and is a a Non-Executive Director of the NHS London. He  has been a non-executive director of several biomedical start-up companies.

Dr Mark Caulfield, Clinical Director

Mark Caulfield graduated in Medicine in 1984 from the London Hospital Medical College and trained in Clinical Pharmacology at St Bartholomew's Hospital where he developed a research programme in molecular genetics of hypertension. From 1996 he has been National Co-ordinator of the MRC British Genetics of Hypertension (BRIGHT) Study on behalf of five UK universities. In 2000 he successfully bid for £3.1m to create the Barts and The London Genome Centre which now underpins over 40 programmes of research. He was appointed Director of the William Harvey Research Institute in 2002. Dr Caulfield is also Deputy Chair of the London Biobank Regional Collaborating Centre.

Simon Wallwork, Company Secretary

Simon is a Partner and head of the Corporate department at law firm Pannone LLP. He specialises in acquisitions, disposals, private equity, and listing work. Clients cover many sectors and Simon has a particular focus on the life sciences sector. After qualifying at Elliott & Company in Manchester, he moved in-house with Pilkington plc becoming involved in a number of cross-border transactions.  Moving back into private practice,  Simon joined Fox Brooks Marshall in 1992 and Wacks Caller in 1994 when the firms merged, at which point he became a partner.  Simon joined Pannone LLP in 2002.