Simon Ward

Simon is the Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Draig Therapeutics as well as Professor in Translational Drug Discovery and Director of the Medicines Discovery Institute (MDI) at Cardiff University.

Simon is a pioneer and leader in AMPA receptor biology and drug discovery (>70 publications, 50 patent applications) with a wide-ranging experience from over 25 years in senior roles in major pharmaceutical companies, biotech & academia (GlaxoSmithKline, BioCrea, Knoll Pharmaceuticals, Vernalis, Chiroscience, University of Sussex, Cardiff University). He has led multidisciplinary project teams for a wide range of diseases. As Director of the MDI at Cardiff University he built a portfolio of drug discovery and clinical development projects that formed the basis of Draig’s innovative pipeline. He also has considerable experience of commercial deal making.

Simon is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and is an internationally recognised expert in medicinal chemistry and drug development leading to many external roles on scientific advisory boards, charity and government funding panels and scientific societies.

Simon received a MA in Natural Sciences and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Cambridge.