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David Brown
Chairman and co-founder, Healx Ltd, Cambridge UK
David Brown is a prominent figure in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, with a career spanning over 40 years in medical research and drug discovery. He is the co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Healx Ltd, a Cambridge University spinout company that uses machine learning to find treatments for rare diseases.15
Career Highlights
Pharmaceutical Industry Experience:: David Brown has held significant positions in major pharmaceutical companies. He was formerly the Global Head of Drug Discovery at Roche, where he was responsible for overseeing the productivity of over 2000 scientists across five research sites in the USA, Europe, and Asia.1
Notable Inventions:: While working at Pfizer, Brown was named co-inventor on the patent for Viagra. He led the team that developed Viagra for eight years, taking it through to proof of clinical efficacy for treating male erectile dysfunction. Additionally, he was involved in the development of Relpax (for migraines) and Revatio (for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension). These drugs have collectively generated sales exceeding $50 billion.1
Entrepreneurial Ventures:: In addition to co-founding Healx, Brown was also a co-founder of Crescendo Biologics, an antibody company.1
Healx and AI-Driven Drug Discovery
At Healx, David Brown and his team are pioneering the use of artificial intelligence in drug discovery, particularly for rare diseases. The company employs machine learning to analyze vast amounts of biomedical data, identifying hidden connections between existing chemical compounds and rare diseases.2
Recognition
Brown's innovative work has earned him recognition in the industry. In 2019, he was listed in the Maserati 100 UK Innovators/Entrepreneurs list.1
Philosophy and Approach
David Brown's approach to drug discovery has been shaped by his experiences, particularly the serendipitous discovery of Viagra. He advocates for a more holistic and data-driven approach to pharmaceutical research, emphasizing the importance of observing unexpected effects and leveraging technology to uncover new possibilities in treatment.3
David Brown's LinkedIn profile can be found under the username david-brown-7b2b394, reflecting his current position at Healx Ltd.4
Highlights
A key milestone for Healx - and for many cancer patients. Onward.
Back in year 2006 I was very fortunate to visit a small orphanage for Tibetan children in the Tawang Valley north of Bhutan, Manjushree Vidyapith School and Orphanage. To help the children, together with my friend Diana Gallagher who was also on that trip, I cofounded a small charity FMVSO (Friends of Manjushree Vidyapith School and Orphanage). I'm very happy to report that our support has allowed Lama Thupten, founder of the orphanage, to provide a home and education to hundreds of destitute children. FMVSO continues today to provide funding for food, health, clothing and education. It also fully supports those students that go on to college to complete their higher education.
One of the challenges the students face is that when they complete their schooling at Manjushree and then go on to higher education, they don't have the basic IT skills and access to personal computers that are now required for study at college. In the past we have provided a few students individually with recycled laptops transported from England when we visited Manjushree, but now we need to scale that initiative so that all students in their final Grade 12 year at Manjushree are trained and have suitable equipment. #education #opportunities #school #highereducation #charity So we have launched a Go Fund Me campaign to try to raise enough money to buy them laptops in the hope this will open opportunities for self learning and bridge some of the IT gaps they are facing.
Please don't feel obliged to donate, but if it resonates with you for some reason the kids will be super grateful.
Charity website: https://www.fmvso.org/
And the go fund me campaign we launched https://gofund.me/3a8a0fa2
Thanks and best wishes to you. David Brown (Co-founder and Chair, FMVSO)
