Darrin M Disley

Biography

Darrin is a successful serial entrepreneur who has been involved in the start-up and growth of a number of business ventures. Since joining Horizon in 2007, Darrin has been instrumental in growing Horizon from a small start-up in Cambridge in the UK into a rapidly growing multinational leader in the life sciences. In this time, he has built a world-class management team, set a highly successful commercial and business strategy, led the company through several financing rounds including the Company’s highly successful IPO in 2014 (a new record for a life science company on the AIM market), and driven the acquisitions of CombinatoRx, Sage Labs, Haplogen Genomics and Avvinity Therapeutics. In 2012, he was named Business Leader of the Year at the European Life Science Awards, in 2014 was named biotech and pharma Executive of the Year by Scrip, in 2015 was named UK Quoted Company Entrepreneur of the Year, Cambridge Business Person of the Year and one of the 175 Faces of Chemistry by the Royal Society of Chemistry, and in 2016 was conferred with a lifetime-held Queens Award for Enterprise Promotion in the 2016 birthday honours list in recognition of his contribution to Life Science entrepreneurship. Darrin sits on the Boards of several companies and organizations and is currently Director and co-founder of Avvinity Therapeutics Ltd and GeoSpock Ltd, Chairman of Desktop Genetics Ltd, Director of Celixir Ltd and HealX Ltd, Board Member of the UK Bioindustry Association, Chairman of Trustees at Footprint Cafes CIO and serves on the advisory boards of Axol Bioscience Ltd, Biotech and Money, the Cambridge Science Centre, the Cambridge Phenomenon, GeneAdviser Ltd and SimPrints. Darrin is a successful serial entrepreneur who has been involved in the start-up and growth of a number of business ventures. Since joining Horizon in 2007, Darrin has been instrumental in growing Horizon from a small start-up in Cambridge in the UK into a rapidly growing multinational leader in the life sciences. In this time, he has built a world-class management team, set a highly successful commercial and business strategy, led the company through several financing rounds including the Company’s highly successful IPO in 2014 (a new record for a life science company on the AIM market), and driven the acquisitions of CombinatoRx, Sage Labs, Haplogen Genomics and Avvinity Therapeutics. In 2012, he was named Business Leader of the Year at the European Life Science Awards, in 2014 was named biotech and pharma Executive of the Year by Scrip, in 2015 was named UK Quoted Company Entrepreneur of the Year, Cambridge Business Person of the Year and one of the 175 Faces of Chemistry by the Royal Society of Chemistry, and in 2016 was conferred with a lifetime-held Queens Award for Enterprise Promotion in the 2016 birthday honours list in recognition of his contribution to Life Science entrepreneurship. Darrin sits on the Boards of several companies and organizations and is currently Director and co-founder of Avvinity Therapeutics Ltd and GeoSpock Ltd, Chairman of Desktop Genetics Ltd, Director of Celixir Ltd and HealX Ltd, Board Member of the UK Bioindustry Association, Chairman of Trustees at Footprint Cafes CIO and serves on the advisory boards of Axol Bioscience Ltd, Biotech and Money, the Cambridge Science Centre, the Cambridge Phenomenon, GeneAdviser Ltd and SimPrints.

Research Interest

Pharmaceutical Sciences