About us

A world class team at the forefront of a new approach to treating chronic diseases.

Our team has extensive expertise in drug discovery and development gained from working in large pharma and biotech, combined with deep scientific expertise in programmed disease resolution. Our advisory group includes senior figures in both medicine and the biotech/pharma industry.

Everything we do at Istesso is underpinned by our core values: to create possibilities, to respond to needs, and to create bold solutions. Together, these values create a culture and ethos that puts the power of science and the very real-life impact it has on society at the centre of our work. We are committed to our global community, developing drugs with the potential to revolutionise treatment and transform the lives of patients – and their families.

Team

Sam Williams

Chairman

Lisa Patel

Chief Executive Officer

Gemma Vallance

Operations Manager

Chris Hill

Chief Financial Officer

Kerry Hylands

Head of Clinical Operations

David Loczenski

Project Manager

Laurence Skillern

Medical Director

Sharon Hanks

Director, CMC

Team

Sam Williams

Chairman

Sam is the founding CEO of Istesso and now serves as company Chairman. Prior to founding Istesso, he was a top-ranked equity analyst in the City of London. Sam is currently Managing Partner at IP Group plc where he runs the Life Sciences division and serves as an Investor Director on the boards of Diurnal Group plc, Microbiotica Ltd, Psioxus Ltd, Pulmocide Ltd and Apollo Therapeutics. Sam holds a PhD in molecular biology from Cambridge and a degree in biology from Oxford.

Team

Lisa Patel

Chief Executive Officer

Lisa is CEO and co-founder of Istesso. Prior to joining the company in 2007, she spent 10 years at GlaxoSmithKline as a team leader in the Cardiovascular Centre of Excellence and latterly as a group leader in Clinical Pharmacology and Discovery Medicine. Lisa has a PhD in molecular genetics, a degree in biochemistry and an MBA.

Team

Gemma Vallance

Operations Manager

Gemma manages operations at Istesso. She was previously at Angermann Goddard and Loyd and has a broad experience of working with, and supporting, new biotech companies.

Team

Chris Hill

Chief Financial Officer

Chris is CFO of Istesso. He has more than 10 years’ experience as a CFO in private equity/VC backed, early-stage life science and biotech companies including OxSonics Therapeutics Ltd, Ixaka Ltd and Oxford Pharmascience plc. He is a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and has a degree in Economics and Public Policy.

Team

Kerry Hylands

Head of Clinical Operations

Kerry is Head of Clinical Operations at Istesso. She has over 15 years of experience in clinical research in a wide range of therapeutic areas. Her experience, gained in biotech, pharma, contract research organisations and the NHS spans all stages of development, from Phase 1 to Phase 4 and includes the management of complex global studies.

Team

David Loczenski

Project Manager

David is a Project Manager at Istesso. Prior to joining the company, he was a Project Leader in the metabolic disease group at Sygnature Discovery. David conducted his PhD and post-doctoral training at the University of Nottingham and has authored more than 10 peer-reviewed scientific publications.

Team

Laurence Skillern

Medical Director

Laurence has 30 years experience in senior positions in clinical drug development within large pharma and biotech including roles at Astellas, Pfizer and Ferring Pharmaceuticals, as well as experience within the UK Medicine Control Agency and a Visiting Professorship at the University of East Anglia. His career has covered a wide variety of assets at multiple stages of development, including significant experience with early- and late-stage development towards commercialisation. Laurence graduated from King’s College, London (BSc, MBBS, MD) and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetrics & Gynaecology and a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal Colleges of Medicine in the UK.

Team

Sharon Hanks

Director, CMC

Sharon has over 15 years’ experience within CMC functions including late-stage project leadership (Phase II to post commercialisation). She began her career with GSK, gaining experience within primary and secondary process development and manufacture, specialising in drug product. Prior to joining Istesso she was Senior Director at Pharmaron where she was integral to the establishment of their UK drug product business. Sharon has a master’s degree and PhD in Chemical Engineering and is a Chartered Fellow of the IChemE.

Board

Sam Williams

Chairman

Lisa Patel

Chief Executive Officer

Peter Allen

None-Executive Director

Professor Sir Keith Peters

Non-Executive Director

Craig Richardson

Observer

Greg Smith

Observer

Board

Sam Williams

Chairman

Sam is the founding CEO of Istesso and now serves as company Chairman. Prior to founding Istesso, he was a top-ranked equity analyst in the City of London. Sam is currently Managing Partner at IP Group plc where he runs the Life Sciences division and serves as an Investor Director on the boards of Diurnal Group plc, Microbiotica Ltd, Psioxus Ltd, Pulmocide Ltd, and Apollo Therapeutics. Sam holds a PhD in molecular biology from Cambridge and a degree in biology from Oxford.

Board

Lisa Patel

Chief Executive Officer

Board

Peter Allen

None-Executive Director

Peter has over 20 years’ experience in senior board positions in a wide portfolio of healthcare companies. He is currently non-executive Chairman of Clinigen plc, Advanced Medical Solutions plc and Diurnal Group plc. Peter was Chairman and interim Chief Executive Officer of ProStrakan Group plc at the time of its £292m acquisition by Kyowa Kirin in 2011 and Chairman of Proximagen Neuroscience plc at the time of its £223m acquisition by Upsher Smith.

From 1992-2004 he was Chief Financial Officer of Celltech Group plc where he played a critical role in managing the company’s flotation and several strategic acquisitions, and was Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the time of the company’s £1.5bn acquisition by UCB in 2004. Peter is a qualified chartered accountant by background and has a joint degree in Accountancy and Law.

Board

Professor Sir Keith Peters

Non-Executive Director

Sir Keith is one of the UK’s most distinguished clinician-scientists, having previously been Regius Professor of Physic and Head of the School of Clinical Medicine at the University of Cambridge. From 2005-2016 he acted as Senior Consultant in R&D at GSK, reporting to the President of R&D, during which time he also served on GSK’s Global Safety Board. Sir Keith served as a non-executive director on the main board of Amersham plc prior to its £5.7bn acquisition by General Electric in 2003 and chaired the company’s Scientific Advisory Board. He also served on the Medical Advisory Board of Merck Research Laboratories from 1996-2005.

From 2006-2008 he was interim Director of the MRC National Institute for Medical Research where he played a key role in the conception of the Francis Crick Institute. Sir Keith is a Fellow of the Royal Society and was President of the Academy of Medical Sciences from 2002-2006. His research focused on immuno-inflammatory mechanisms in kidney and blood vessel disease.

Sir Keith was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to the advancement of medical science.

Board

Craig Richardson

Observer

Craig is a Partner in IP Group’s investment team. He started his career in the pharmaceutical industry in 1998 with GlaxoWellcome, before moving into biotech business development and then venture capital. Prior to IP Group, he held investment roles at several funds including Inventages and FusionIP.

Craig has a first-class honours degree in Pharmacy from Cardiff University, a PhD from the University of Nottingham and an MBA with Distinction from the University of Warwick.

Board

Greg Smith

Observer

Greg is Chief Executive Officer of IP Group plc, which invests in breakthrough science and innovation companies across life sciences, DeepTech and cleantech. Greg was formerly the Group’s CFO and has more than 20 years’ experience in financial services including serving on various of the Group’s investment committees and its FCA-authorized businesses. Prior to IP Group, Greg built and managed the operations and operational due diligence team at Tarchon Capital Management, a multi-billion-dollar fund of hedge funds business. Greg qualified as an accountant in KPMG’s London financial services practice working with asset management, insurance and banking clients. Greg is a Fellow of the ICAEW and holds a degree in Mathematics from the University of Warwick.