Mark Appleby

Lead preclinical efforts in neurodegenerative disease.

Core member of Disease Focus Group, responsible for evaluation of in-licensing opportunities in diabetic retinopathy and diabetic nephropathy and for the formulation of corporate strategies within the diabetes complications arena.

Member of senior scientific staff responsible for the development and implementation of target discovery strategies in autoimmune disease until therapeutic area was discontinued in 2014. Oversaw inception and operation of early stage projects in autoimmune disease as project lead. Evaluated external in-licensing opportunities and managed progression through the internal review processes. Functioned as an active member of the portfolio management group, responsible for reviewing Seattle site programs and overseeing external collaborations. Provided immunology expertise to a group advising on the corporate therapeutic strategy in rheumatoid arthritis.

Led the operation of discovery and validation programs both within the company and with corporate partners. Worked with colleagues in Business Development in the presentation of scientific proposals for external commercialization, resulting in the execution of external alliances with corporate partners.

Involved in the inception and implementation of discovery program. Built a state-of-the-art discovery program that used large-scale mouse mutagenesis to identify novel genes involved in immune function and inflammatory responses and contributed 3 projects to the early-stage Celltech pipeline. Contributed hands on expertise and scientific direction for multiple Celltech target discovery programs within the areas of immune function and inflammatory response, including the discovery program that demonstrated an essential role for Foxp3 in regulatory T cell function. Facilitated strategic planning and the review of scientific programs as a key member of the Scientific Management Team.

B.Sc Biochemistry and Microbiology