Ellipses Pharma

Our Expertise

A proven track record in search and evaluation, acquisition of new assets and out-licence of developed medicines

Meet Our Team

World renowned leadership and experience

Executive Team
Board of Directors

Dr Rajan Jethwa

Chief Executive Officer & Founder

Rajan has 15 years’ experience at the frontier of the life sciences industry as an internationally experienced executive and investment professional. Before founding Ellipses Pharma alongside Sir Chris Evans, he built and led a number of successful venture capital-backed businesses across the sector. Rajan is a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and graduated from Cambridge University with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Medical Sciences. Rajan founded The Cancer Awareness Trust alongside Sir Chris Evans which is a unique digital platform providing essential guidance for living with cancer and throughout treatment.

David Cook

Chief Financial Officer

David has extensive experience of financial and general business management in the life sciences sector, financing businesses and managing investor relations. He is also Non-Executive Chairman of AIM listed Alliance Pharma plc. Previously he was chief financial officer and chief business officer of Biotie Therapies Corp and held senior financial positions with Jazz Pharmaceuticals International, EUSA Pharma and Zeneus Pharma. David qualified as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers after graduating from the University of Oxford with a degree in Chemistry.

Professor Hendrik-Tobias Arkenau

Global Head of Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer

Professor Arkenau is a world-class expert and global authority in the clinical and translational development of cancer treatments. His experience has been built across a career spanning over 300 oncology trials at all stages of development. Prior to joining Ellipses, Professor Arkenau was the Executive Medical Director of Sarah Cannon Research Institute UK, where for the last 12 years he led a broad portfolio of early and translational oncology assets and successfully supported multiple pharma and biotech companies in their strategic development. He was previously a senior clinical fellow at the Royal Marsden hospital, and team leader for early drug development at the Prince of Wales Clinical School at the University of New South Wales, Australia. He currently holds positions as Honorary Professor at University College London, Cancer Institute and Consultant Oncologist at University College London Hospital.

Martin Doorbar

Chief Development Officer, Non Clinical

Martin brings extensive experience of the full lifecycle of drug and medical device development covering pre-clinical stages through commercial approvals to global launches. In his career he has played a pivotal role in thirteen drug approvals and over forty IND / IMPD applications. Prior to joining Ellipses, Martin was Global Head of CMC and Manufacturing Operations with HUYA Bioscience International where he led the pharmaceutical development team. Martin began his career at Aventis and has held roles of increasing seniority with Juniper Pharmaceuticals, Mundipharma Research, Shire Pharmaceuticals, Innovata Biomed (now part of Vectura). Martin completed his BSc (Hons) in Applied & Analytical Chemistry at Staffordshire University.

Jon Maxmin

General Counsel & Director Operations

As a corporate lawyer, Jon leads all elements of legal and IP across the company including overseeing the Ellipses IP strategies and patent portfolios and all in-licensing activities. Prior to Ellipses, Jon had wide experience across the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors as a Partner and head of the Healthcare franchise at Skillcapital. He previously worked as a solicitor in the private equity teams at Allen & Overy and Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Jon holds a MA, Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University, a postgraduate degree from the Cambridge Judge Business School and two postgraduate legal qualifications.

Professor Sir Christopher Evans OBE

Chairman & Founder

Sir Chris has launched, financed and supported more than 50 scientific companies, 20 of which have been listed on stock markets worldwide, including notable companies such as Chiroscience, Celsis, BioVex, ReNeuron, and Vectura. Sir Chris is a pioneer in the life sciences industry, having discovered and developed more than 20 innovative products for diseases such as cancer, arthritis, obesity and Parkinson’s disease. Appointed OBE in 1995 for services to medical bioscience, he was then knighted in 2001 for services to bioscience and enterprise. Sir Chris has advised governments in the UK and internationally on science over the last 35 years and founded a number of charitable ventures.

Waleed Al Mokarrab

Non-Executive

Waleed is the Deputy Group CEO for Mubadala Investment Company, responsible for strategic oversight of Mubadala’s broad investment portfolio and special projects. He holds directorships throughout the Middle East including chairman of the Cleveland Clinic, board member of Abu Dhabi Global Market, Emirates Investment Authority and First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Professor Maha Taysir Barakat OBE

Non-Executive Director

Professor Maha is a Senior Advisor at Mubadala and research director at the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre in Abu Dhabi, which she co-founded. She is former Director General of the Health Authority Abu Dhabi, chairs the RBM Partnership to End Malaria and is a member of the board of the Global Institute for Disease Elimination in Abu Dhabi. She was appointed OBE in 2010 and given the Imperial College Medal in 2013.

Dr Fahad Khater

Non-Executive Director

Dr Fahad is a physician and owner of Egypt's largest integrated healthcare system, responsible for eleven fully developed healthcare facilities, offering 900 beds and integrating labs, pharmacy, rehabilitation and long term care services.

Dr Rajan Jethwa

Chief Executive Officer & Founder

Rajan has 15 years’ experience at the frontier of the life sciences industry as an internationally experienced executive and investment professional. Before founding Ellipses Pharma alongside Sir Chris Evans, he built and led a number of successful venture capital-backed businesses across the sector. Rajan is a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and graduated from Cambridge University with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Medical Sciences. Rajan founded The Cancer Awareness Trust alongside Sir Chris Evans which is a unique digital platform providing essential guidance for living with cancer and throughout treatment.

David Cook

Chief Financial Officer

David has extensive experience of financial and general business management in the life sciences sector, financing businesses and managing investor relations. He is also Non-Executive Chairman of AIM listed Alliance Pharma plc. Previously he was chief financial officer and chief business officer of Biotie Therapies Corp and held senior financial positions with Jazz Pharmaceuticals International, EUSA Pharma and Zeneus Pharma. David qualified as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers after graduating from the University of Oxford with a degree in Chemistry.

In memoriam

Professor Gordon McVie – An Oncology Pioneer

In every sense, Gordon McVie was a man of great stature. His outstanding achievements in cancer research and treatment were in keeping with his towering physical presence. Those of us who knew him, and worked alongside him, were constantly in awe of his boundless enthusiasm.

From the research lab to the rugby stadium, this genial Scotsman was always the same; making the most of every moment with the tremendous verve he showed throughout his distinguished life. His sudden and untimely death, has deprived us all of his perpetual drive to develop new treatments and make a difference to every patient with cancer.

As the founding chair of the Ellipses Scientific Affairs Group, he brought together and established the purpose for the world’s largest cancer-focused key opinion leader group, tasked with providing independent expertise and validating the science behind the most promising scientific discoveries. This ground-breaking work, coupled with the wisdom he brought to our board and executive team, played an enormous part in establishing Ellipses as an innovative accelerator of cancer drug development.

We owe Gordon a great debt of gratitude. His passion for giving cancer patients the best possible way ahead will continue to fuel our mission and vision, remaining engrained in the ethos of Ellipses.

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