The son of a military man, David Ebsworth was educated at Duke of York’s Royal Military School, where his A levels included German and Chemistry. At the University of Surrey, he earned a double honours degree covering both subjects, and then a PhD, looking at industrial relations in the German and UK chemical industries.

Following an interesting, successful, diverse career in pharma and biotech, David currently manages a portfolio career focused on the UK and Europe. He chairs four of the five companies with which he is involved. Two, ActiMed and Verona Pharma, are UK companies.

Verona, a 10-year labor of love for David, took the well-trodden path to the US to raise $200 million for their Phase 3 trial of a COPD treatment now on the US market. This podcast recording predates Merck & Co’s decision in July 2025 to acquire Verona, one of the most successful biotechs in the UK, for $10 billion.

The UK R&D tax credit scheme, unparalleled in any other country, is fantastic.

The UK has certainly become a great venue for founding companies.

We (the UK) probably do not celebrate our success as much as we should.

I find the BELS Brief Clips digest incredibly useful for updating me on what is going on in the UK.

I often forward on articles of interest from BELS to my companies.

Karen Akinsanya PhD is President of R&D, Therapeutics at Schrödinger. This followed leadership positions at Merck & Co and at Ferring Pharmaceuticals.

Raised initially in Bristol and then in the suburbs of Surrey, in this episode of BELS Brief Chats, Karen shares her roots in our sector, undoubtedly stimulated by the healthcare and scientific backgrounds of her parents, especially her father bequeathing to her at a young age his wooden microscope. She received her BSc in biochemistry from Queen Mary University of London and her PhD in endocrine physiology from the Royal Postgraduate Medical School at Imperial College London. Her professional path has been forged by her ambition and an insatiable curiosity that leads her to constantly question things. This had led her to numerous career experiences including her current leadership position at a company sitting squarely at the nexus of technology convergence.

Karen also has first-hand experience of the extensive British-educated talent working abroad. “Almost on a weekly basis I bump into someone who has a British accent in the US or even recently in Japan! Brits get around. There has to be a way of tapping into this global UK talent”.

Karen also has a fundamental understanding of why BELS is so important. “Partnerships and collaborations are really driven by relationships and networks”.

From humble beginnings in Edinburgh, Martin Mackay PhD’s lifelong passion for football and his beloved Heart of Midlothian, allied to a total fascination with the ‘coolness’ of lab coats, were parlayed into a hugely impressive career, including major research leadership roles at industry titans such as Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Alexion. Now, “having a blast” in the world of biotech with Rallybio, he still also exerts his influence and experience on big corporates via board seats at Novo Nordisk and Charles River Labs.

Martin points to his current experience of leading a biotech: “At Rallybio, sitting here in Connecticut, our first five deals were consecutively in Norway, Sweden, the UK, France and Canada! It points to our heritage that we are willing to look anywhere for great assets and programs.”

When Martin considers the UK’s importance in the life science universe he asserts: “No question, the UK is a good place to do business and we will continue to go back there where it is appropriate to do so... I am confident that future UK governments will continue to be supportive towards life science institutions across the UK. It is a great place to do science and to grow.”