RespiVert’s Director of Medicinal Chemistry is Dr John Murray, who has a total of over 20 years experience in drug discovery within the major pharma and biotechnology sectors. John obtained a PhD in organic chemistry from Imperial College and after a postdoctoral fellowship in Montreal joined GSK (then Glaxo) in 1986. He worked initially in Chemical Development and subsequently in Research, where he participated in a number of drug discovery projects in the CNS, and cardiovascular areas.

In 1995 John built and led an industrial research collaboration with the University of Cambridge through the establishment of a Glaxo Wellcome funded laboratory within the Department of Chemistry; the first venture of its kind in the UK. The group also provided medicinal chemistry support to the Glaxo Institute of Applied Pharmacology and successfully identified non-peptide somatostatin receptor agonists targeting pain. A collaborative program with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine led to the discovery of novel anti-protozoal agents.

In 1999 John joined OSI Pharmaceuticals as a Director, and expanded the unit to over 50 chemists. His department had responsibility for OSI’s discovery programs in dermatology and oncology and discovered a potent, selective inhibitor of c-Kit that was evaluated in phase I clinical trials. Following his promotion to VP of Discovery Chemistry his department also took over a strategic collaboration in diabetes with Tanabe Seiyaku.

With the spun out of the diabetes and obesity franchise as Prosidion in 2003 John moved to the new Company as VP of Discovery Sciences. In the following period two programs advanced candidates into pre-clinical development. One molecule, a glucokinase activator, advance into clinical trials and was subsequently out-licensed in Jan 2007 to Eli Lilly.

Following a period working as a free-lance consultant John joined RespiVert with his fellow co-founders in September 2007 and is responsible for outsourcing and managing the discovery chemistry programs through a portfolio of selected CROs.