CBAMS appoints former Fisons R&D Director as Chairman
Posted on 14 August 1997
Dr Johnson, the former worldwide director of research and development for Fisons Pharmaceuticals and Group Main Board Director of Fisons plc, takes up his position in September.
The Centre for Biomedical Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (CBAMS) will be the first company in the world to offer commercial services for AMS and the first dedicated to biomedical research in Europe. A spin-off company of the University of York, it is targeted most directly at the pharmaceutical industry, where it will speed up the development of new drugs.
Commenting on his appointment, Dr Johnson said: "I am very pleased to be joining this new company which uses novel technology to aid the pharmaceutical industry in drug discovery and development. I would also like to express my thanks to Mr Ken Dixon, the founding Chairman, for helping to create this exciting new venture."
Professor Colin Garner, Managing Director of CBAMS said: "I very much welcome Dr Johnson's appointment which greatly strengthens the company's entry into the pharmaceutical industry, one of our key markets."
CBAMS Ltd will provide analytical services, intially in fulfilment of guaranteed service contracts with Glaxo Wellcome, Pfizer, Novartis and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, using a 2m AMS currently being built for the company by a US manufacturer. CBAMS is located in new laboratories at MAFF's Central Science Laboratory in Sand Hutton, York. As well as providing services for the pharmaceutical industry, the equipment can also be used for environmental and archaeological research.
The AMS can measure very low levels of radioactivity and will be used in drug development, enabling doses of radioactivity administered to humans in Phase I studies to be reduced by up to one million-fold. CBAMS expects that AMS measurements will become of major importance in the drug discovery and development process.
For further information please contact Professor Colin Garner on 01904 432900 or email rcg2@york.ac.uk