Dr John Harris CChem FRSC
John Harris graduated from Exeter University in 1969. After gaining a PhD at Queen Mary College (University of London) he spent two years at Liverpool with Charles Rees FRS then joined the Wellcome Foundation, initially working with Sir John Vane’s group on the discovery of prostacyclin and novel prostanoid drugs. Later, he joined Sir James Black’s analytical pharmacology team, work which led to a number of pre-clinical candidates, culminating in the invention of the 5HT1b/d agonist, ZomigTM, the second major prescription antimigraine drug that was developed latterly by AstraZeneca as a consequence of the Glaxo acquisition of Wellcome at that time. He was appointed Head of Wellcome’s UK cardiovascular therapeutic area, during which time he became interested in the then new field of kinase inhibitors. After the acquisition of Wellcome by Glaxo, he decided to leave GW and, together with some key colleagues, he founded BioFocus, a highly successful early-stage CRO, now part of the Charles River organization. As pharmaceutical interest in kinase inhibitors took off, he initiated the development of small highly-designed focused libraries for screening, leading to many patents in the kinase area for clients and commercial success for BioFocus, and he subsequently developed the focused library concept into other fields, including anti-infectives and ion channel modulators, from which other clinical candidates, notably against malaria, have emerged. John retired from BioFocus after the successful friendly merger with Galapagos NV, who have since taken a number of BioFocus-originated compounds to the clinic. He now runs a small pharma/biotech consultancy, having worked with a diversity of clients, including several start-ups, as well as commercial pharma, UK and US universities, and institutions including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Max Planck Institute and the Wellcome Trust. His main current scientific interests are in the field of multi-targeted drugs and, on the more strategic side, the changing structure of drug research and associated business models. He has edited books on both these topics, alongside over 100 scientific papers and patents published over the years. Having consulted for many international clients, and in addition to his work on the Ubiquigent SAB, presently he is working on tuberculosis therapeutics with the University of Cape Town, he sits on the South African Medical Research Council SAB and on the Steering Group of the Wellcome Trust – funded CAMSEED project targeted at kinases involved in resistant breast cancer. He is a chartered chemist and was elected a Fellow of the RSC in 2005.