Glox Therapeutics appoints new Chair and new scientific advisory board member

Glox Therapeutics has appointed Dr. Michael Murray as Chair of its board. He will work with the team to accelerate the company’s growth and help guide the commercialization of its technology. The company has also expanded its scientific advisory board (SAB), adding Dr. Nel Moore to support the development of its novel engineered protein bacteriocins to target drug-resistant pathogenic bacteria and help overcome antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Dr. Michael Murray is the Principal at Murray International Partners who has led multiple high-value international deals in the life sciences sector to support universities, start-ups, SMEs, mid-cap companies, and multinationals. He has almost 30 years’ experience in senior and interim management roles at several biotech/pharma companies, including Metallobio, Porton Biopharma, EnteroBiotix, Sosei Heptares, and Amura Therapeutics, as well as an international commercial consultancy practice.

In addition to teaching commercial IP strategy on the Novo Nordisk Fellowship MBA in BioMedical Design programme (Denmark), he has also delivered training to over 1,200 individuals in the commercialization of technical innovations.

Dr. Murray is a Member of The Royal Society Industry College, an Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Sheffield, where he was a Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence from 2019–2022, a Mentor at Cambridge Enterprise and, from 2017–24, he was a Member of both the Research Strategy Board and the Commercialisation Committee of Coeliac UK. He holds a PhD in Molecular Cell Biology from the University of Leicester, UK.

On his appointment, Dr. Michael Murray, said, “It’s a thrilling time to be joining the Board following the company’s successful seed funding round and PACE and CF AMR Syndicate grants. The exemplary team at Glox Therapeutics and the calibre of science behind its pioneering platform are set to transform the management of AMR infections. I’m excited to help the company grow and continue to progress its therapeutic programme to unlock the incredible potential of this technology.”

Dr. Nel Moore has gained expertise in global drug discovery, development and commercialization in the areas of immunology, oncology and anti-infectives during her 21-year career in the pharmaceutical industry.

Formerly, Vice President of Antibiotics Development at AstraZeneca, Dr. Moore led the late-stage development, global regulatory submission and approval of Zavicefta™/Avycaz™ for the treatment of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. She went on to build and lead AstraZeneca’s antibiotics development organization, supporting four antibiotics in various stages of development and commercialisation, before its divestment to Pfizer.

Since 2018, she has been supporting biotech companies with strategic planning, implementation and execution of business plans, and fundraising in her role as a senior R&D consultant at FWEast and non-executive director. She is currently, also an Independent Council Member at Aston University and Executive Chair/CEO of CHAIN Biotechnology. Dr. Moore holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham and currently sits on several CARB-X Advisory Boards.

Dr. Moore joins Glox Therapeutics’ SAB led by Prof Christoph Tang FMedSci, Professor of Cellular Pathology, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford alongside Prof Colin Kleanthous FMedSci, Co-founder of Glox Therapeutics and the Iveagh Professor of Microbial Biochemistry, University of Oxford.

Dr. Nel Moore, said, “Glox Therapeutics’ engineered protein bacteriocins represent an entirely new class of therapeutic antibiotics to target pathogenic bacteria related to AMR, helping to address the current shortcomings in this field. I very much look forward to working closely with their highly accomplished team to prevent and treat bacterial infections that pose a major threat to global human health.”

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