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Professor Sir Christopher Evans OBE
Non-executive Chairman
A leader in the biotech industry, Sir Christopher is one of its most successful entrepreneurs. During his career he has established over 50 science companies developing over 200 new medicines and worth over £3 billion. He has successfully floated 20 of these businesses on 5 different stock exchanges around the world. Unsurprisingly, he was twice elected Cambridge Businessman of the Year and Financial Times/Cartier Venturer of the Year. In 2005, he was voted Business Achiever of the Year at the Western Mail Business Awards.
Originally from Port Talbot, he gained a degree in microbiology at Imperial College London and a PhD in biochemistry at the University of Hull. He did a Research Fellowship at University of Michigan. Academically he holds professorships and fellowships at over a dozen universities around the UK and has been awarded several Doctor of Science (DSc) degrees. He has more than 100 publications and patents on his scientific work.
He has founded many of the UK’s most successful biotech companies such as Chiroscience plc, Celsis plc, Ark plc and Vectura plc. Sir Christopher is the Founder and Chairman of Merlin Biosciences, one of Europe’s largest venture capital firms specialising in life sciences. Awarded the OBE in 1995 and knighted in 2001, he has collected many medals and awards for his achievements and accumulated an estimated fortune of £158 million according to the 2006 Sunday Times Rich List. He is also the Founder of the UK Stem Cell Foundation charity and a massive Welsh rugby supporter.