mRNA Community Connects

Harvey Branton

Senior Translation Consultant, eXmoor Pharma

Harvey has 30 years’ experience working in bioprocessing including 13 years working in manufacturing for Genzyme and 13 years working at the National Biologics Manufacturing Centre (Part of CPI).  A seasoned consultant and project manager with experience of defining, budgeting and delivering complex projects with engineering, development or manufacturing / technology teams. Extensive technical and commercial due diligence experience of CDMO and service businesses in the pharmaceutical sector.

Sarah Brockbank

Medicines Discovery Catapult, Strategy Leader-Complex Medicines

Sarah Brockbank has 35 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry (ICI, AstraZeneca, Grunenthal). At Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) she leads the strategy for Complex Medicines.

In this role she draws on internal expertise and the external environment, through membership of national programmes and a portfolio of client projects, to develop and implement a core strategy for complex medicines that is responsive to the needs of this emerging area. She supports SMEs develop and execute drug discovery projects from concept to clinical candidate, focusing on a range of drug modalities with a particular interest in RNA therapeutics.

Abby Clark

Senior Manufacturing Programme Executive, BIA

What does your role at BIA involve?  

Abby leads BIA’s manufacturing policy work and supports the Manufacturing Advisory Committee. She represents BIA on the Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership (MMIP) and is secretariate for the High Potential Modalities MMIP workstream. Abby collaborates with the bioprocessing sector with a focus on complex medicines and sustainability within medicine manufacturing.  

Previous experience and achievements  

Abby began her career at CPI, where she successfully completed a Degree Level Apprenticeship in Biotechnology. She then advanced to the role of Downstream Scientist, specialising in RNA process development, automation, and continuous processing. Passionate about advancing the sector, Abby also volunteers her time as ATMP Manufacturing Community (AMC) Director, contributing to the advanced therapies sector and gaining valuable cross-modality insights. 

If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?  

I’d love to have dinner with Rosalind Franklin, a brilliant scientist whose pivotal work on X-ray crystallography was instrumental in uncovering the structure of DNA. Her contributions, overshadowed by sexism, denied her the recognition shared by Crick and Watson. We would talk about the challenges she faced to provide insights into her resilience, intellect, and the untold stories of women in science that continue to shape our sector (and the Watson Crick Franklin model).

Brendan Fish

Director of Biologics & RNA Centre of Excellence, CPI

Brendan is Director of Biologics and the RNA Centre of Excellence at CPI Darlington.  He is responsible for the National Biologics Manufacturing Centre and the dedicated RNA & LNP GMP Manufacturing Facility.  His team has technical accountability for supporting UK pharma innovation through acceleration of development and optimisation of bioprocesses, formulation and analytical methods.  This includes all aspects of process development for multiple types of biopharmaceutical products, including proteins, oligonucleotides, mRNA, saRNA and viral vectors. 

Prior to joining CPI Brendan has held multiple senior leadership roles in the pharma industry spanning a 30 year career in R&D and commercial manufacturing at GSK, AstraZeneca, MedImmune, Cambridge Antibody Technology and Delta Biotechnology giving him a multi-layered understanding of biopharma chemistry, manufacturing and controls from discovery through to launch. 

Shirley Hopper

Deputy Director of National Licensing Strategy, MHRA

Shirley Hopper is a pharmaceutical physician with 16 years’ experience of medicines regulation at the MHRA and a special interest in pharmacogenomics. In addition to assessing the clinical aspects of licensing applications, Shirley has led on the development or revision of a number of published guidances. This includes the draft guidance on individualised mRNA cancer immunotherapies.