Proven leadership team with experience in both the commercialisation and development of innovative medicines. Our team has been further strengthened by the appointment of three former members of the Amryt Pharma plc leadership team who bring a deep knowledge of the rare and orphan drug space.
Jeremy Skillington began his biotechnology career in the Business Development group of Genentech, Inc in California in 2002. At Genentech he was responsible for executing over 40 licencing, investment and collaboration transactions. Returning to Ireland in 2009, Jeremy led Business Development and was a member of the Senior Management team at Opsona Therapeutics Ltd before becoming a founder and CEO of immuno-oncology company TriMod Therapeutics Ltd. In 2014 Jeremy joined German investment fund HS Lifesciences GmbH to provide start-up and business development support to portfolio companies ImmunoQure AG and Ethris GmbH.
Jeremy joined Inflazome on its founding in 2016 and was instrumental in their acquisition by Roche in September 2020 for €380M (£325M) upfront and significant downstream milestones. Jeremy studied Biochemistry at the National University of Ireland, Galway where he was awarded his Ph.D. He performed his post-doctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco in the lab of Prof Rik Derynck.
Cathal Friel is a seasoned serial entrepreneur with a long and successful history and to date has listed five companies on the London Stock Exchange. Cathal is Managing Director of Raglan Capital and serves as Chairman and co-founder of Poolbeg Pharma plc. Poolbeg was established as a spin-off from hVIVO plc in 2021, where Cathal is also co-founder and Chairman. Cathal also co-founded and sits on the Board of Director of European Green Transition plc, which listed on the London Stock Exchange in April 2024. Cathal co-founded Amryt Pharma plc which listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2016 and dual listed on Nasdaq in 2020 and was later sold to Chiesi Farmaceutici for $1.48bn in April 2023. Prior to that, he was co-founder and Chairman of Fastnet Oil & Gas plc, which listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2012.
Cathal began his working career a little earlier than most by having to step in to help run the family business in 1981 at the relatively young age of 16 due to a family illness. He went on to complete his education by taking night classes and received an MBA from the University of Ulster in 1990. Cathal then spent the following five years lecturing on a part-time basis on International Marketing and Business Planning at the University of Ulster whilst in tandem running his own technology services business. In 2001, Cathal was part of the team that successfully established Merrion Stockbrokers in Dublin. Following Merrion’s trade sale in 2006, he founded Raglan Capital which is renowned for building in-house companies that are listed on the public stock markets. Cathal was a finalist in the international category of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2020.
Ian O’Connell is an experienced financial professional with a depth of healthcare and public markets experience. In 2017 he co-founded Open Orphan plc, was made a Board Observer and as VP Corporate Development, he led the acquisition of hVIVO plc and the reverse takeover (RTO) of Venn Life Sciences plc. As a member of the core senior management team, Ian helped drive the company to its position today as a world leader in the testing of infectious and respiratory disease products using human challenge studies.
Prior to this, Ian worked closely with Cathal Friel and Amryt’s senior management on the establishment of Amryt Pharma plc. Ian gained Corporate Finance experience at both Raglan Capital and Deloitte Corporate Finance. Ian has a BSc (Hons) in Finance from University College Cork and is a Member of Chartered Accountants Ireland.
David is a passionate, life sciences professional, with a particular interest in strategy development. He has an impressive multi-national leadership background and in recent years has focused his career on global commercialisation of medicines to tackle severely underserved, debilitating cancers and orphan diseases.
David has held a number of senior positions across the pharmaceutical industry:
Chief Business Officer for Amryt Pharma plc, a global pharmaceutical company focused on developing and delivering innovative treatments to improve the lives of people with rare and orphan diseases. David was instrumental in putting in place the global commercial infrastructure at Amryt which enabled its revenue growth from c. $1.5 million when he joined in 2016, to approaching US$250 million some six years later.
President EMEA for Aegerion Pharmaceuticals where he was responsible for the EMEA P&L and was tasked with turning the business around to ensure it was fit to deliver profitable growth, after a challenging entry into the region.
General manager Celgene UK, responsible for setting up Celgene’s UK and Ireland operating company and subsequently Vice President EMEA Marketing and Market Access followed by his move to the US to assume the role of Corporate Vice President, Global Marketing for Celgene, where he played a pivotal role in defining global brand and portfolio strategy.
David spent nearly 7 years on the board of Myeloma UK, a highly progressive patient group, supporting patients with Multiple Myeloma and now sits on the Board of GAFFI focused on tackling fungal disease in at risk populations in low to middle income countries. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from Imperial College, London.
Former Global General Counsel and member of the Amryt Group Executive Leadership Team, John is a qualified lawyer in the US (New York), England and Wales and Ireland with previous experience in one of Irelands top Private Practice firms and one of London’s top private practice firms in Corporate M&A, Tech, Media and Telecoms, Life Sciences and Commercial Contract matters. A proven contract negotiator in the M&A space, with experience in contract drafting and identifying client needs.
Experience in advising Boards and Executive Management teams on M&A, commercial contracts, licensing, data protection, general corporate matters, managing external counsel, global legal budgets and ensuring external legal resources are aligned globally and ensuring compliance with security exchanges including NASDAQ and London Stock Exchange.
John was identified and recognised as one of the most influential and innovative General Counsels in the Legal 500 (Legalease) GC Powerlist: Ireland 2022 and GC Powerlist: Ireland Teams 2023. Whilst being named Life Science Lawyer of the Year in 2023 at the Irish Legal Awards having been further nominated for Lawyer of the Year and In-House Lawyer of the Year in 2022 & 2023.
John also acts as Executive Chairman, Director and Board Member of Duality Healthcare Group – network of private general practice and urgent care clinics throughout Northern Ireland as well as holds a board role on the Northern Ireland Rare Disease Partnership.
Laura Maher is an experienced clinical operations leader. Laura joined Amryt Pharma plc in 2018 and as Associate Director of Clinical Operations she led the clinical research programmes for multiple products in Amryt’s pipeline including Filsuvez®, the world’s first approved epidermolysis bullosa treatment. Laura has an extensive background in Clinical Operations having held Clinical Trial management roles at Prothena Biosciences, Cancer Trials Ireland, Imperial College London, and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer. Laura holds a BSc in Therapeutic Radiography and an MSc in Research from Trinity College Dublin.
Bruno Speder is VP, Regulatory Affairs at Poolbeg Pharma and has a substantial career in global regulatory affairs in a broad range of therapeutic areas, ranging from infectious diseases to oncology. He has extensive experience supporting global development programs in various stages of development and leading discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and other regulators. Over the past decade he has worked with a multitude of biotech companies helping them advance the development of their products. He has served on the advisory board of a number of companies, translating scientific and clinical strategies to a pragmatic regulatory approach.
He holds a degree in Bio-Engineering (Ghent University, Belgium) and a degree in Health Economics (EHSAL Management School, Belgium).
Liam Tremble is the lead on a number of Poolbeg Pharma’s early-stage discovery programs. Liam was one of Poolbeg’s first employees, having previously worked for the CRO, hVIVO, conducting human challenge trials. Liam has become the Project Lead for Influenza and RSV drug discovery AI programs, Scientific Advisor on drug candidate licencing opportunities, Project Lead on non-dilutive funding opportunities and grant writing and Scientific Lead on product repositioning and indication expansion. Liam has a particular interest in immunomodulatory therapies for the prophylaxis and treatment of infectious diseases. Identifying new opportunities to improve patient outcomes and bring new products to the clinic drives him in his day-to-day work at Poolbeg Pharma plc.
Following his degree in Immunology from Trinity College, Liam completed an MSc and then a PhD in Cancer Research in University College Cork.
Ross Crockett is a fellow member of Chartered Accountants Ireland and has extensive experience in senior finance positions in public listed companies including Amryt Pharma plc, Cove Energy plc, Fastnet Oil & Gas plc and Orogen Gold plc. Mr Crockett has worked with Accenture and Barclays plc in Ireland, and Westpac Bank and Commonwealth Bank in Australia. Ross qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2006 having completed his training with Ernst & Young Dublin and holds a masters degree in Accounting from University College Dublin (Ireland).
Carol Dalton is Co-founder and VP of Investor Relations & Public Relations at Poolbeg Pharma plc. With strong public markets and life science experience, Carol previously co-founded hVIVO plc (formerly Open Orphan plc) in 2017 and has been instrumental in its growth and success to date. Carol holds a BSc in Nutraceuticals with a focus on antimicrobial resistance from Technological University Dublin.
Proven Board of Directors with experience In both the commercialisation and developing innovative medicines
Jeremy Skillington began his biotechnology career in the Business Development group of Genentech, Inc in California in 2002. At Genentech he was responsible for executing over 40 licencing, investment and collaboration transactions. Returning to Ireland in 2009, Jeremy led Business Development and was a member of the Senior Management team at Opsona Therapeutics Ltd before becoming a founder and CEO of immuno-oncology company TriMod Therapeutics Ltd. In 2014 Jeremy joined German investment fund HS Lifesciences GmbH to provide start-up and business development support to portfolio companies ImmunoQure AG and Ethris GmbH.
Jeremy joined Inflazome on its founding in 2016 and was instrumental in their acquisition by Roche in September 2020 for €380M (£325M) upfront and significant downstream milestones. Jeremy studied Biochemistry at the National University of Ireland, Galway where he was awarded his Ph.D. He performed his post-doctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco in the lab of Prof Rik Derynck.
Cathal Friel is a seasoned serial entrepreneur with a long and successful history and to date has listed five companies on the London Stock Exchange. Cathal is Managing Director of Raglan Capital and serves as Chairman and co-founder of Poolbeg Pharma plc. Poolbeg was established as a spin-off from hVIVO plc in 2021, where Cathal is also co-founder and Chairman. Cathal also co-founded and sits on the Board of Director of European Green Transition plc, which listed on the London Stock Exchange in April 2024. Cathal co-founded Amryt Pharma plc which listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2016 and dual listed on Nasdaq in 2020 and was later sold to Chiesi Farmaceutici for $1.48bn in April 2023. Prior to that, he was co-founder and Chairman of Fastnet Oil & Gas plc, which listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2012.
Cathal began his working career a little earlier than most by having to step in to help run the family business in 1981 at the relatively young age of 16 due to a family illness. He went on to complete his education by taking night classes and received an MBA from the University of Ulster in 1990. Cathal then spent the following five years lecturing on a part-time basis on International Marketing and Business Planning at the University of Ulster whilst in tandem running his own technology services business. In 2001, Cathal was part of the team that successfully established Merrion Stockbrokers in Dublin. Following Merrion’s trade sale in 2006, he founded Raglan Capital which is renowned for building in-house companies that are listed on the public stock markets. Cathal was a finalist in the international category of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2020.
Ian O’Connell is an experienced financial professional with a depth of healthcare and public markets experience. In 2017 he co-founded Open Orphan plc, was made a Board Observer and as VP Corporate Development, he led the acquisition of hVIVO plc and the reverse takeover (RTO) of Venn Life Sciences plc. As a member of the core senior management team, Ian helped drive the company to its position today as a world leader in the testing of infectious and respiratory disease products using human challenge studies.
Prior to this, Ian worked closely with Cathal Friel and Amryt’s senior management on the establishment of Amryt Pharma plc. Ian gained Corporate Finance experience at both Raglan Capital and Deloitte Corporate Finance. Ian has a BSc (Hons) in Finance from University College Cork and is a Member of Chartered Accountants Ireland.
Professor Luke O’Neill
Non-Executive Director
Luke O’Neill is Professor of Biochemistry in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. He is a world expert on innate immunity and inflammation. His main research interests include Toll-like receptors, Inflammasomes and Immunometabolism. He is listed by Thompson Reuters/ Clarivates in the top 1% of immunologists in the world, based on citations per paper. Professor O’Neill is co-founder of Sitryx, which aims to develop new medicines for inflammatory diseases. Another company he co-founded, Inflazome was recently acquired by Roche.
Luke was awarded the Royal Dublin Society / Irish Times Boyle Medal for scientific excellence, the Royal Irish Academy Gold Medal for Life Sciences, The Society for Leukocyte Biology (SLB) Dolph O. Adams award, the European Federation of Immunology Societies Medal and in 2018 the Milstein Award of the International Cytokine and Interferon Society. Luke is a member of the Royal Irish Academy, EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organisation) and a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Eddie Gibson is a seasoned biopharma leader. Eddie has a strong commercial track record of launch and general management in both pharmaceuticals and biotechs with over 25 years’ experience leading biopharma organisations with experience working across multiple geographies and senior roles within the industry. Eddie has personally led many major European launches and also led the creation and implementation of global access plans in a wide range of therapy areas including oncology, haematology, virology, neuroscience, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
As founder of Wickenstones, a pharma market access consultancy, Eddie has led diverse teams to develop and deliver complex plans for market access and has been instrumental in the facilitation of plans to deliver new pharmaceuticals to the global market. Eddie also acts as an advisor and NED to both biotech start-ups and as an advisor to the Korean Health Development Initiative – a government advisory committee designed to accelerate the biotech and pharmaceutical industries in South Korea.
Prof. Brendan Buckley is a medical graduate of University College Cork and a doctoral graduate of Oxford University . For most of his career he worked in academic clinical practice as a consultant physician. He holds professorial titles in the faculties of Medicine at Universities in Cork and Dublin. He has over 30 years’ experience in clinical research in roles as chief investigator, chair of data and safety monitoring committees and on institutional review boards.
He became Chief Medical Officer of ICON plc, following their acquisition of Firecrest Clinical Ltd, which he had co-founded. He was a member of ICON plc’s Executive Leadership Team and was actively involved in M&A targeting, assessment and diligence. Firecrest was one of a number of companies focused on clinical trial innovation which he co-founded and sold.
Brendan was a non-executive director of the Irish national medicines regulatory authority (now the Health Products Regulatory Authority) between 2004 and 2011. He was a member of the inaugural European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) and of the EMA Scientific Advisory Group for Diabetes and Endocrinology as well as teaching on FDA advanced courses on clinical trials. He serves on the boards of various pharma development and services companies, some of which he has co-founded. Brendan has over 150 scientific publications, including the key opinion-leading book ‘Re-Engineering Clinical Trials’.
Professor Luke O’Neill
Luke O’Neill is Professor of Biochemistry in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. He is a world expert on innate immunity and inflammation. His main research interests include Toll-like receptors, Inflammasomes and Immunometabolism. He is listed by Thompson Reuters/ Clarivates in the top 1% of immunologists in the world, based on citations per paper. Professor O’Neill is co-founder of Sitryx, which aims to develop new medicines for inflammatory diseases. Another company he co-founded, Inflazome was recently acquired by Roche.
Luke was awarded the Royal Dublin Society / Irish Times Boyle Medal for scientific excellence, the Royal Irish Academy Gold Medal for Life Sciences, The Society for Leukocyte Biology (SLB) Dolph O. Adams award, the European Federation of Immunology Societies Medal and in 2018 the Milstein Award of the International Cytokine and Interferon Society. Luke is a member of the Royal Irish Academy, EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organisation) and a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Prof Brendan Buckley
Prof. Brendan Buckley is a medical graduate of University College Cork and a doctoral graduate of Oxford University . For most of his career he worked in academic clinical practice as a consultant physician. He holds professorial titles in the faculties of Medicine at Universities in Cork and Dublin. He has over 30 years’ experience in clinical research in roles as chief investigator, chair of data and safety monitoring committees and on institutional review boards.
He became Chief Medical Officer of ICON plc, following their acquisition of Firecrest Clinical Ltd, which he had co-founded. He was a member of ICON plc’s Executive Leadership Team and was actively involved in M&A targeting, assessment and diligence. Firecrest was one of a number of companies focused on clinical trial innovation which he co-founded and sold.
Brendan was a non-executive director of the Irish national medicines regulatory authority (now the Health Products Regulatory Authority) between 2004 and 2011. He was a member of the inaugural European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) and of the EMA Scientific Advisory Group for Diabetes and Endocrinology as well as teaching on FDA advanced courses on clinical trials. He serves on the boards of various pharma development and services companies, some of which he has co-founded. Brendan has over 150 scientific publications, including the key opinion-leading book ‘Re-Engineering Clinical Trials’.
Dr Elaine Sullivan is a Senior pharmaceutical and biotech industry executive with a successful track record in science, investment, business development, and start-ups with over 25 years’ experience. She has extensive global leadership experience including membership of the top senior global R&D management teams at Eli Lilly (US) where she held the position of Vice President Global External Research & Development, and she was a member of Lilly Ventures and Lilly Asian Venture steering Committee. At AstraZeneca (UK) she held a number of positions including Vice President R&D, Head of New Opportunities Therapy Area and Vice President, Science & Technology. Former positions also include positions co-founder and CEO of Carrick Therapeutics. Her board appointments include Member of the Supervisory Board of Evotec AG, Non-Executive Director of the IP Group plc, hVIVO plc, Zealand Pharmaceuticals and Nykode Therapeutics ASI where she is also the Chair of the R&D committee. In addition, Elaine is a member of the Scientific Advisory board of Poolbeg Pharma. She was named Ernst Young Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year (Ireland).
Daniel F. Hoft, M.D., Ph.D. is the Dianna and J. Joseph Adorjan Endowed Chair of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, and Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Allergy & Immunology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He has been working in immunology and infectious diseases for 32 years.
Dr. Hoft’s interests in infectious diseases started when he served as Senior Malaria Health Officer for the Peace Corps in Malaysia. Dr. Hoft then received his MD from the University of Missouri and was trained in Infectious Diseases at the University of Iowa, where he received an NIH Physician Science Training Award (PSTA) allowing him to complete a Ph.D. in microbiology/immunology. He came to Saint Louis University in 1992 and has received continuous NIH funding since his arrival. His group has pioneered use of immunoinformatics to develop T cell-targeting, “universal” vaccines to protect all human populations against future influenza pandemics. In addition to contributions in pre-clinical vaccinology, Hoft has conducted human trials with the goal of improving tuberculosis (TB) vaccines
In 2014 he became the Principal Investigator of SLU’s Vaccine & Treatment Evaluation Unit (VTEU), one of nine NIH centers. which has received millions in NIH funding through contracts and awards, including a Vaccine & Treatment Evaluation Unit contract placing SLU among an elite group of top academic centers conducting phase I through III trials of novel vaccines for global protection against future pandemic challenges. In 2018 he received an Outstanding Scientist Award from the St. Louis Academy of Science. Since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic the SLU VTEU led by Dr. Hoft has featured prominently in the urgent COVID-19 vaccine development. Currently, in addition to being the PI of the VTEU, Dr. Hoft is the PI on 3 active NIH RO1 awards for studies of universal influenza T cell immunity and optimal mucosal and systemic TB-specific immunity. In addition, he is the VTEU protocol chair for a first-in-human phase 1 trial of a novel COVID-19 vaccine designed to induce both protective neutralizing antibody and protective T cell responses in more than 95% of the world’s population.
