Nigel Beeley's Biography

Nigel Beeley, Advocate, Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD)

Dr. Nigel R. A. Beeley obtained a BSc. Honours (Class 1) degree in chemistry from the University of Liverpool, UK followed by a Ph.D. from the University of Manchester, UK on prostaglandin synthesis (supervisor Prof. J.K. Sutherland). He then spent two years as a Royal Society Overseas Research Fellow in Prof. A. Eschenmoser's laboratory (ETH, Zurich, Switzerland) on the synthesis of macrolide antibiotics. His industrial career began at Reckitt and Coleman, Pharmaceuticals Division, UK working on opiates followed by 8 years in the cardiovascular group of Synthélabo Recherche, Paris, France (now part of Sanofi-Aventis) working on ACE inhibitors, dopamine agonists and calcium antagonists. Returning to the UK in 1988, he joined Celltech (now part of UCB) as Head of Oncology-Chemistry, contributing in particular to programs on antibody targeting to tumour antigens and inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases. In 1994 he became Senior Director of Chemistry at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. San Diego, USA working on peptides and proteins related to amylin, leptin and exendin along with small molecule amylin antagonists, activators of mitochondrial uncoupling protein (UCPs) and anti-atherosclerotic compounds. From early 1999 to June 2004 he was VP and Chief Chemical Officer at Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where he built two substantial teams totaling over 120 chemically oriented scientists working on known and orphan G-protein coupled receptors. From June 2004 to January 2007 he was VP, Discovery for Senomyx, Inc. where he was focused on the identification and optimization of ligands for G-protein coupled receptors and ion channels involved in taste. Dr. Beeley was CEO, China Operations (Beijing) and a Consultant for BioDuro, Inc. from January 2007 until their acquisition by PPD in December 2009. An interest in renewable energy spurred him to found ENRQI, Inc., a start-up company focused on biofuels and renewable chemicals. More recently he became a partner and Chief Strategy Officer with Sinagy CleanTech, LLC, an energy related US/China business endeavor. In early 2014 he co-founded Ab-VAX, Inc., a company focused on interrogating the immune repertoire to identify novel antibodies and vaccines. During his career he has been involved in a number of projects that have delivered clinical candidates, four of which (Mylotarg, Symlin, Byetta and Belviq [Lorcaserin]) have become products. He also consults for several clients including Elcelyx Therapeutics, Inc., and Thesan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Beeley has co-authored over 70 scientific publications and abstracts and is co-inventor on over 100 patent applications, including over 40 issued US patents.