Meet the Thalia team

Dr Chris Britten is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of experience in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. He is currently an advisor to a range of companies from early-stage biopharmaceuticals to private equity funds. Chris was previously SVP Global Business Development at Grunenthal GmbH leading M&A, licensing, post-merger integration and partner business. He has also led corporate development functions in a variety of companies including Neuraxpharm, Sandoz and Sanofi Pasteur and was an advisor with both Deloitte Corporate Finance and Torreya Partners. Chris started his career at GSK in drug discovery R&D before moving into business development. He holds a PhD in Biochemistry and an MBA.

Dr David H Solomon joined as Chief Executive Officer of Thalia Therapeutics in February 2026. David brings over 30 years of international leadership experience in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare innovation. He has held multiple Chief Executive roles at publicly-listed and private biotech companies in both the US and Europe, demonstrating expertise in R&D delivery, strategic business development, financing, corporate governance and delivering significant shareholder value.

David was Chief Executive Officer of Silence Therapeutics plc [NASDAQ: SLN], the Nasdaq-listed RNA therapeutics company. During his tenure the market capitalisation rose from £40 million to over £700 million. Earlier, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of Nasdaq-listed Zealand Pharma A/S [NASDAQ: ZEAL], leading the company through its IPO and the global approval of its lead product, Liixisenatide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist for type II diabetes, marketed by Sanofi as Adlixin® and Soliqua®. David was also Chief Executive Officer of Pharnext S.A., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm focused on novel rare disease therapeutics.  He has also served on multiple biotech boards, including as Chairman and Director for companies such as Advicenne and Rexgenero, and has held board positions with TxCell, Onxeo, and Promosome. David was earlier a founder of Carrot Capital Healthcare Ventures in New York City.

David studied at Weill Cornell Medicine of Cornell University and the Sloan Kettering Graduate School of Medical Sciences, where he received his PhD. He also served on the faculty of Columbia University’s College of Physicians & Surgeons, in the departments of Pharmacology, Neurology and Biological Sciences.

Luke has over 25 years’ experience in the capital markets, working with SMEs as both an adviser and board director. He previously served as Head of Corporate Finance and Managing Director at Northland Capital Partners, a nominated adviser and broker later acquired by SP Angel. He subsequently founded his own consultancy, advising growth companies across multiple sectors and regions on a wide range of transactions, including IPOs, secondary fundraisings, corporate restructurings, acquisitions and takeovers. Luke also manages a small family office and sits on the boards of several quoted and private companies.

A scientist with extensive experience of building early stage businesses within the Avacta Group, which he founded, with over 18 years as a public company CEO. Alastair has extensive management, strategic planning and transactional experience, having led the public and private M&A activities of Avacta since its IPO on AIM, which was completed via a reverse merger. Over his tenure, Avacta grew into one of the leading AIM biotech companies comprising two divisions: a clinical stage oncology drug company advancing its proprietary pre|CISION^TM tumour targeting platform and a diagnostics business executing an M&A-led growth strategy in Europe focused on healthcare professionals.

Mike has more than four decades of successful drug discovery and development experience with two major pharmaceutical companies and several biotechnology companies and is currently the co-founder, director and senior advisor at AlNivo Therapeutics. Previous roles include SVP of Scriptgen (Anadys) Pharmaceuticals, which was sold to Roche in 2011 for USD$230 million, co-founder and CSO at Amorsa Therapeutics, Inc., developing novel treatments for depression and pain, where he oversaw a successful US$180 million exit, and co-founder and COO of Adelia Therapeutics sold to Cybin (now Helos Pharma) with their compounds now in advanced clinical trials. Dr Palfreyman is a co-inventor on 56 issued US and European patents, multiple pending patents, and has co-authored over 150 scientific articles and book chapters.

Edward is a representative of Northern Standard Limited, N4 Pharma’s largest shareholder. He brings extensive experience in strategy, governance, and business development, having founded and led multiple businesses. Edward currently advises Northern Standard on investments in critical industries and cutting-edge technologies. He also serves as Senior Business Development Executive at Ironveld PLC and is a Non-Executive Director of AIM-listed biotech, TheraCryf PLC.

Fiona is a highly experienced oncology drug developer and independent consultant, bringing 30 years of experience in research and translational drug development in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors, having led teams from early research through to clinical development. Fiona started her career at GSK and has subsequently held leadership positions in multiple biotech companies, including CSO of Avacta Therapeutics, VP New Opportunities at Algeta ASA (now Bayer), VP Translational Research at Antisoma plc, Director of Pre-clinical Development at BTG plc (now part of Boston Scientific and Head of Biology at Topotarget AS. Fiona is also a Non-Executive Director of the prostate cancer company Hox Therapeutics. Fiona received a PhD from the Haematology Department at Cambridge University and has a BSc in Biochemistry from Glasgow University.

Mark is an independent scientific consultant with a broad experience in pharmaceutical research and development, including nucleic acid therapeutics and cellular delivery systems including organic and inorganic nanoparticles. During 25 years at GlaxoSmithKline, he ran a transnational functional genomics department and then set up and led GSK’s therapeutic nucleic acid unit. He then joined AstraZeneca’s Oncology Division for 3 years, working with Ionis and Moderna. He currently has a portfolio of clients, including UK and US-based investment companies, UK and European-based universities, and small biotechs, including being Head of Translational Research at Argonaute RNA Ltd., and on the SAB for Deep Genomics.

Simon is an independent consultant with over 28 years of experience in the bio-pharma industry. Over the last 15 years, Simon has worked with more than 70 clients of all sizes, from technology startups to big pharma, largely supporting business development and licensing, as well as technology scouting and fundraising. Simon has been involved in over 80 commercial deals and mentors and advises early-stage businesses and management teams, primarily in specialty pharma and biotech. Before moving into industry in 1997, Simon was a Wellcome Trust Research Fellow at the University of Oxford.

Dr Margaret Courtney is an independent consultant with over 25 years of experience in transitioning active substances and drug products from the research laboratory into clinical studies and commercialisation. Margaret has worked in management positions in small biotech companies to large pharmaceutical organisations, and following on from her pharmacy degree and doctoral studies at the University of Strathclyde, has developed specific expertise in drug delivery systems, including lipid and silica nanoparticles for delivery of small molecules and nucleic acids. Currently, she is working with a range of life science companies, providing strategic development and compliance advice as well as selection and management of contract organisations.

Dr Rachel Schiller brings over 15 years of expertise in drug discovery research, with a career spanning the development pipeline from target identification through to clinical trials. Prior to joining Thalia Therapeutics, Rachel served as Lead Scientist and Project Manager for a high-growth startup, where she directed complex projects supporting global pharmaceutical partners through various stages of drug development. Her industry background also includes tenures at Adaptimmune, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, where she contributed as both a Target Discovery and Analytical Development Scientist. In her current role at Thalia Therapeutics, Rachel oversees cross-functional project management, ensuring strategic alignment across all operational streams. Rachel was a Clarendon Scholar at Oxford University, where she earned her PhD in Biomedical Science.