Management
Details of the management team at MicroPharm can be found below.
Professor John Landon MD Chairman and Research Director
Professor Landon was appointed to the University Chair of Chemical Pathology at Saint Bartholomew’s Hospital in 1968. The Department was best known for its research activities, based mainly on the diagnostic use of antibodies. He took early retirement to concentrate on his business activities which started in the mid 1970s when he co-founded a private pathology service (Technical Laboratory Services, TLS) dealing with specimens originating in the United Kingdom and a second (International Laboratory Services, ILS) receiving clinical specimens from overseas. He was joined at TLS by Dr. Ruth Coxon and both companies operated profitably until sold in 1984. Professor Landon founded Polyclonal Antibodies Limited (PAL) in mid-Wales in 1983 and Therapeutic Antibodies Limited (TAb) in 1984 which was also mainly located in Wales. He was successful in raising £1.6 million of venture capital for PAL and in 1990 the two companies were merged under the name of Therapeutic Antibodies with Professor Landon in charge of the UK operations and R&D. In 1996, he helped TAb obtain a full listing on the London Stock Market. Finally, Professor Landon retired from TAb in September 1998 in order to establish and help manage MicroPharm.
Dr Ruth E Coxon PhD Chief Scientist
Dr Coxon spent her early years in the Department of Chemical Pathology at Saint Thomas’s Hospital Medical School. In 1976, she joined Professor Landon as Laboratory Manager of TLS. Later she moved to the Department of Chemical Pathology at the Medical College of Saint Bartholomew’s Hospital and obtained a PhD for basic research on antibodies to TNF alpha for therapeutic use culminating in clinical trials. She joined TAb in 1996 to head the Clinical Research and Assay Laboratory and also left TAb in September 1998 in order to found and help manage MicroPharm.
Dr Geoff Shellswell PhD Chief Operating Officer
After his degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, Geoff Shellswell went on to gain his PhD in Developmental Biology from the University of London in 1977. This was followed by three MRC Research Fellowships in Connective Tissue Biology. He joined ILS in 1996, a company originally set up by Professor Landon, working in Quality Control of their immunodiagnostic and molecular biology kits. After 6 years with ILS he moved to TAb to become Manager of the Process Development and Transfer group. He then moved to become Principal Scientist within the Technical Support group. In 1999, Geoff joined MicroPharm as its first employee in Wales, setting up the laboratory side of the polyclonal antibody production facilities. In 2004, he became head of production with overall responsibility for both the diagnostic and therapeutic products’ operations and MicroPharm’s Wales facilities. In 2009 he joined the Board as the Chief Operating Officer.
Dr Ibrahim Al-Abdulla PhD Head of Research
Dr Al-Abdulla qualified in Pharmacy from the University of Baghdad in 1980. After 5 years as a hospital pharmacist in Iraq, he joined Professor John Landon’s research group at St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College and obtained an MPhil degree for work in immunoassay and then a PhD degree for work on the production and assessment of antivenoms for rattlesnake envenomation. His postdoctoral career began in 1991, when he joined Therapeutic Antibodies where he gained extensive practical experience in the aseptic manufacture and quality control of biological pharmaceuticals, being responsible for the production of polyclonal antibodies for therapeutic use against venoms, cytokines including tumour necrosis factor, and drugs. In 1999, Dr Al-Abdulla joined MicroPharm in London as Production Manager where he led a group of scientists in drug finding and product development He planned and directed the construction of a suite of clean rooms which have been used to produce immunotherapeutics for clinical trials. In 2007 he was appointed Head of Research.
Dr Nick Brown BSc, MBBS, GCSpMed, (UQ) MPhil (Cantab) Medical Director
Nick joined MicroPharm as Medical Director in 2008, after completing a MPhil in Bioscience Enterprise from The University of Cambridge. His thesis was on snake antivenom in sub-Saharan Africa. He is also a medical graduate from the University of Queensland, Australia, with interests in toxinology, radiology, healthcare economics and sports medicine. Aside from his work for MicroPharm, Nick also works at The Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in Australia.
