A supporter of BELS from the outset and a member of our Advisory Council, Dr David U’Prichard passed away at the end of August 2020. BELS has passed on our condolences to David’s family. He will be sorely missed.
David’s near 40-year professional career spanned academic research, senior R&D leadership at two global pharmaceutical companies, biotech company leadership, venture capital, and extensive experience on the boards of public and private US, UK, European and Indian companies. For some 10 years, David was a Venture Partner at Red Abbey Venture Partners, Apax Partners and Care Capital. From 1999 to 2003, he was CEO of 3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals, which he took public in 2000 and sold to Johnson & Johnson. From 1997 to 1999, he served as Chairman of Research and Development at SmithKline Beecham and he worked for ICI/Zeneca from 1986 to 1997, serving as Executive Vice President and International Research Director from 1994 to 1997. While at Zeneca and SmithKline Beecham, David oversaw the discovery and development of a number of successful drugs including Seroquel®, Accolate®, Avandia®, and Iressa®. Following post-doctoral research at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, he was a tenured Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Neurobiology at Northwestern University Medical School. He has held academic appointments at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Pennsylvania, and is an Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow. David received his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Kansas, and his BS in Pharmacology from the University of Glasgow. He has authored more than 100 primary and review publications, was a founding co-editor of Molecular Neurobiology, and has served as a member of numerous editorial boards. David is Chairman of the Board of Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals (Berkeley Heights NJ and Dundee) and a Board Member of Iroko Pharmaceuticals (Philadelphia PA), past Chairman of PennsylvaniaBio and is Chair of the Advisory Board and member of the Board of Managers of BioMotiv, the for-profit arm of the Harrington Project.
Professor Sir Hans Leo Kornberg – Professor of Biochemistry
One of BELS’ earliest supporters, Sir Hans Kornberg passed away in December 2019 at age 91. He arrived in the UK at age 11 as a refugee from Nazi Germany in 1939 and was raised in Yorkshire by his uncle. As a biochemist, he built on the work of Nobel Prize Winner Hans Krebs to make key discoveries concerning metabolic cycles, identifying key participants in the metabolic reactions of how organisms convert food and oxygen into energy and tissue and measured their effects—knowledge that is fundamental to all of biology. In the UK, Hans worked as a professor at Sheffield, Leicester and Cambridge Universities. He was made a fellow of the Royal Society in 1965, knighted in 1978, and received numerous awards and honorary degrees. He also served numerous roles in scientific public service, chairing the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and the Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification and serving as a governor of the Wellcome Trust, along with other committee posts and trusteeships. When he was obliged to retire from his Cambridge posts at age 67, Hans accepted an invitation to become professor of biology at Boston University in Massachusetts, where he continued to teach and research for the rest of his life. His genial personality, sense of humour and optimistic spirit made him a very welcome member of the BELS community.