Webinar
How to run a successful drug discovery team
Recorded on 16 April
Join industry leaders from Novartis, Apollo Therapeutics and Eikon Therapeutics as they discuss their highs and lows, experience and advice, on running a successful drug discovery team.
Our speakers include Hilary Beck, VP, Head of Chemistry at Eikon Therapeutics, Dean Phillips, Director at Novartis, and Susanne Wright, Director, Chemistry Research and Operations at Apollo Therapeutics.
If you’re interested in the skills needed across successful teams, strategies for communication, collaboration and leadership, or hearing personal anecdotes from leading figures in the field, join us for an insightful panel discussion on 16 April.
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Hilary Beck
VP, Head of Chemistry, Eikon Therapeutics
After completing a Ph. D. in Synthetic Organic Chemistry at the University of Texas-Austin, Hilary Beck was an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Hilary began her industrial career at Amgen and contributed to multiple programs including the discovery of AMG 232. In addition, Hilary served several essential leadership roles at Flexus Biosciences, IDEAYA Biosciences, and FLX Bio (aka RAPT). In 2020, Hilary joined Eikon Therapeutics where she is currently VP Chemistry. Hilary has contributed to the discovery of multiple clinical candidates and is an inventor on > 25 patent applications.
Dean Phillips
Director, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research
Dean has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. After receiving his BSc in Chemistry from UC Riverside, he gained a PhD in Natural Product Synthesis from UC Irvine, focused on the synthesis of glutamate receptor probes. Dean joined Ligand Pharmaceuticals in 2001, where he worked on early discovery and synthesis of several compounds which entered clinical trials. He joined GNF as a Research Investigator in 2006, the company later becoming the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. Dean has held several different positions since then, becoming an Associate Director of Medicinal Chemistry in 2016, and Director in 2022. In his current role, Dean leads and co-leads many drug discovery projects within and across departments, and focuses on early exploratory drug discovery.
Susanne Wright
Director, Chemistry Research and Operations, Apollo Therapeutics
Susanne Wright MRSC, is currently Director, Chemistry and Research Operations at Apollo Therapeutics Ltd. with oversight of the operations for ten Medicinal Chemistry projects in the portfolio. Prior to joining Apollo Therapeutics, Susanne was a consultant Medicinal Chemist and Project Manager at WuXi App Tec. supporting external clients across their Drug Discovery programmes. Before joining WuXi App Tec., Susanne was a laboratory based Medicinal Chemist at Takeda Pharmaceutical from June 2008 to October 2016. Susanne has spent much of her career based in the biotech sector in Cambridge UK, from 2003-2008 Susanne held roles at Sareum Ltd and Inpharmatica Ltd, as a Medicinal Chemist in their R&D teams. Susanne is highly motivated, enthusiastic R&D scientist who has worked across multiple target classes and therapeutic areas, including CVM, Oncology, Inflammation and CNS with a proven track record of achieving preclinical candidates.
Susanne received a MSci from Glasgow in Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry.