David Brown, Ph.D., to remain active on Healx Board while on secondment to pursue academic research at Trinity College, University of Cambridge

Healx, an AI-enabled, clinical-stage biotech company specialising in rare diseases, today announced the appointment of Jonathan Milner, Ph.D., as the new non-executive chairman of the board, effective immediately. This transition comes as current chairman and co-founder David Brown, Ph.D., begins a secondment to pursue academic research at Trinity College, Cambridge University. While pursuing his studies, Dr. Brown will remain an active member of the Healx board, continuing to contribute and support Tim Guilliams, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Healx, and Dr. Milner in advancing Healx’s mission.

Drs. Brown and Guilliams, co-founders of Healx, are leading a paradigm shift towards target-agnostic and multi-omic based drug discovery powered by artificial intelligence. This approach accelerates and optimises the discovery of new treatments for rare diseases, and Dr. Brown's input has served as a foundational source of inspiration and scientific rigor for this groundbreaking work at Healx.

“It has been an extraordinary privilege to start Healx alongside Dave. His body of work, including the co-invention of Viagra while at Pfizer, and also as the former global head of drug discovery at Roche, and similar contributions at various successful biotech companies such as Cellzome and Crescendo Biologics, showcases the visionary approach he brings to everything he undertakes,” said Dr. Guilliams. “I feel incredibly fortunate to continue growing this company alongside Dave, and I am inspired by his dedication as he pursues academic research at Trinity College. Meanwhile, we are incredibly fortunate to welcome Dr. Milner, one of the industry’s brightest minds dedicated to reducing human suffering via the development of new healthcare technologies and medicines. His influence in the industry is truly impressive, and his achievements set the standard for our mission at Healx, where we strive to deliver life-changing therapies to patients.”

Dr. Milner is a distinguished entrepreneur and an influential figure in the UK life sciences and biotech industry. His entrepreneurial journey includes founding Abcam, a global leader in the supply of protein research tools, which he grew into a multi-billion-dollar company before it was acquired in 2023 for nearly $6 billion. He also founded the Milner Therapeutics Institute, which bridges academia and industry to expedite drug discovery and facilitate collaborations between researchers and biopharmaceutical companies. He has a strong track record of fostering innovation in life sciences and serves on many boards, investing and contributing his expertise to numerous startups and established organisations.

Dr. Milner commented, “As Dr. Brown carves out time to embark on this new academic journey, Healx eagerly anticipates his continued scientific leadership and valuable insights while he works with the Healx team to further define the third generation of drug discovery. As the new Chairman, and speaking for the entire Healx team, we extend our heartfelt congratulations on his acceptance to Trinity College, Cambridge University as he takes another meaningful step in his illustrious career.”

About Healx

Healx is a generative AI enabled, clinical-stage, rare disease biotech pioneering the next generation of drug discovery in order to bring novel, effective treatments to rare disease patients around the world. There are 10,000 known rare diseases that affect 400 million people across the globe, but only 5% of those conditions have an approved treatment. By combining generative AI technology with deep drug discovery and development expertise, Healx can accelerate the pace, increase the scale and improve the chance of success of rare disease treatment development in order to deliver global patient impact. Healx exists because every rare disease patient deserves a treatment.

Healx was founded in Cambridge, UK, by Tim Guilliams, Ph.D., a biochemical engineer and tech entrepreneur, and David Brown, Ph.D., co-inventor of Viagra and former global head of drug discovery at Roche. Healx has raised approximately $110 million to date. For more information, visit www.healx.ai or follow us on LinkedIn or X.

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