About

Every rare disease patient deserves a treatment

Patient-inspired

It all started when Dr Tim Guilliams and Dr David Brown met a man named Nick Sireau in 2014.

Nick had set up a patient group to help find treatments for an extremely rare genetic disorder that affected his sons. For a decade he worked tirelessly, but the drug discovery process was slow and very expensive - a challenge facing nearly all patient groups today.

Tim and Dave had long been advocating drug redevelopment - the use of existing drugs for new therapeutic purposes - when used in combination with artificial intelligence. They knew that this inexpensive and accelerated approach could help others like Nick and the rare disease community overcome the challenges they were facing and find treatments faster.

Nick became their inspiration – he was the living story of the therapeutic need their approach could meet.

Our values

Care for rare

Rare disease patients are at the heart of everything we do.

We seek opportunities to meaningfully support them and their families - from developing treatments, to volunteering with patient groups, to championing and engaging with the broader community.

Grow as
individuals

We are learners, always looking to extend and enhance our expertise.

We believe every voice matters, and work in an environment of mutual respect, honest opinions and trust for one another.

Win as
a team

We are united in our mission to help patients.

We strive to maintain an inclusive, diverse and caring culture where we can celebrate successes and lessons together.

Innovate
and deliver

The road ahead is challenging.

It requires rapid innovation and calculated risks that won’t compromise our high standards. We take action fast and learn from any failure along the way.

Our approach

At the centre of our approach our next-generation AI platform we built to find novel connections between drugs and diseases. We combine these predictions with in-house expertise to accelerate new treatments through our pipeline to clinical trials and on to patients.

View our pipeline

Some of our board members, investors and partners

Latest news and articles

Healx Appoints Christopher Moertel as Global Head of Clinical Development

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Healx Announces First Patient Dosed in Phase 2 Trial Evaluating HLX-1502 for the Treatment of Neurofibromatosis Type 1

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Tim Guilliams talks about Using AI to De-Risk Rare Disease Drug Development

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Our team

Dr Tim Guilliams

Co-founder and CEO

Tim Guilliams is a tech entrepreneur based in the Cambridge Cluster, UK, with a deep passion for leveraging AI to accelerate treatments for rare diseases.
He is the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Healx Ltd, an AI-powered, patient-centric biotech company that is revolutionising the discovery and development of treatments for rare diseases at scale. Under his leadership, Healx has raised over $100 million and has garnered numerous accolades for its innovative approach.

As CEO of Healx, Tim was honoured with the 'Well Founded Founder/CEO Leadership Award' for his pioneering contributions to HealthTech and patient impact, as well as his commitment to fostering a healthy workplace culture. He has also been recognized in The Sunday Times Maserati 100 list of entrepreneurs, The Telegraph’s Tech 100, and InVivo’s 30 Rising Leaders in the Life Sciences, among other prestigious lists.

In addition to his work at Healx, Tim is the Founding Director of the Cambridge Rare Disease Network (CamRARE), a charity dedicated to improving the lives of those affected by rare diseases.

Tim earned his PhD in Biophysics and Neuroscience from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Chemistry. Before moving to Cambridge, he completed an MEng in Bio- and Chemical Engineering at the University of Brussels

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Dr Mark Youssef

Global Head of Business Development and Licensing

Mark is an experienced business development leader. As the Global Head of Business Development and Licensing, he is responsible for leading Healx's strategic and business development initiatives.

Prior to joining Healx, Mark was the Global Head of Business Development at Acrotech Biopharma where he successfully closed multiple transactions to help build the company from the start. Previously, he has also worked in Business Development at Bayer and held various positions in the pharmaceutical industry.

Mark has a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, Masters in Business Administration and post-doctoral fellowship training from Rutgers University.

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Dr Christopher L. Moertel

Global Head of Clinical Development

Dr Christopher Moertel brings over two decades of clinical and research leadership in pediatric neuro-oncology to Healx. Prior to joining the company, he held the Kenneth and Betty Jayne Dahlberg Professorship of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School, where he served as Medical Director of the Pediatric Neuro-Oncology and Neurofibromatosis Programs. He also co-directed the Katie Hageboeck Children’s Cancer Research Fund Clinic and led both the Pediatric Brain Tumor and Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Fellowship Programs.

Dr Moertel began his medical career after earning his MD from the University of Minnesota, followed by a residency in pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at the Mayo Clinic. He later held senior clinical leadership roles at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, including Chief of Staff and Medical Director of Hematology/Oncology.

An internationally recognised expert in neurofibromatosis-associated tumors and pediatric brain cancer, Dr Moertel has led numerous investigator-initiated clinical trials and contributed significantly to research in targeted therapies and immunotherapy. He has been consistently recognised as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor and named among the Best Doctors in America.

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Simone Manso

Global Head of Neurofibromatosis Therapy Development

Simone is deeply passionate about advancing treatments for Neurofibromatosis (NF), a cause close to his heart due to his personal connection with the condition and the NF community. As Head of Neurofibromatosis Therapy Development at Healx, he leads the company’s NF programme, driving innovation in this crucial area.

In addition to his role at Healx, Simone actively serves the NF community as a member of the Board of Directors for the Children’s Tumor Foundation, the leading not-for-profit organisation dedicated to ending NF through research.

Before joining Healx, Simone held senior HR roles in the financial and biotech sectors across Ireland and Switzerland. He holds a degree in Psychology and an Executive M.B.S. in Human Resource Strategies from DCU in Dublin.

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Dr Bruce Bloom

Chief Collaboration Officer

Bruce is the founder and former CEO of Cures Within Reach, a global non-profit dedicated to repurposing approved drugs, devices, and diagnostics to create new, affordable treatments for diseases without current therapies. He also envisioned and developed CureAccelerator®, the first online platform connecting clinicians, researchers, funders, and industry to drive redevelopment research.

Currently, Bruce serves as Chief Science Officer for both the Kabuki Syndrome Foundation and the Goldman Philanthropic Partnerships, and he is the CEO of Fortuity Pharma, a public benefit corporation focused on developing repurposed therapies for nano-rare diseases.

Bruce’s other leadership roles include serving as an Ashoka Social Entrepreneur Fellow, Chair of the Patient Advisory Board for the Institute for Translational Medicine, and board member of various organisations such as Every Cure, Mission: Cure, and the Rare Disease Research Hub. He is also on the editorial board of ASSAY and Drug Development Technologies.

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Trevor Bennington

Senior Finance Director

Trevor brings over 20 years of post-qualification experience in senior finance roles across the UK and internationally. Throughout his career, he has collaborated closely with boards, investors, and executive teams, driving financial strategies and fostering sustainable growth.

Before joining Healx, Trevor served as the Finance Director at Amphista Therapeutics, where he played a pivotal role in securing collaboration deals, leading successful funding rounds, and implementing ERP systems. His expertise in budgetary control and strategic financial management made him a trusted advisor to the executive team and board.

Trevor is passionate about developing strategic goals, innovating systems, and streamlining processes. His commitment to excellence ensures that the finance functions he leads are high-performing and aligned with the broader organizational objectives.

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Nick Street

Head of Operations, People & Tech

Nick is a seasoned technology leader with a proven track record of building and leading highly effective, cross-disciplinary teams. As Head of Operations, People and Tech at Healx, Nick ensures the seamless daily operations of the company while also overseeing People and Technology, driving excellence across these critical functions.

With a wealth of experience spanning multiple industries, Nick has developed software products for startups, enterprise organisations, and consultancy firms. Prior to joining Healx, Nick was instrumental in establishing Pivotal Labs in the UK, where he led the North EMEA business and managed consulting teams across Europe. Nick has guided companies in transforming their software development strategies by adopting lean agile, user-centric, and modern cloud methodologies.

Nick holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence from Imperial College London, further solidifying his expertise in technology leadership.

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Richard Davenport

Senior Director, Drug Discovery

With over 25 years of experience in drug discovery, Richard has advanced multiple preclinical candidates and led projects in inflammatory, metabolic, CNS, and rare disease research. He began his career at Chiroscience, one of the UK's pioneering biotech companies, where he quickly rose through the ranks as the company evolved, eventually merging with Celltech and UCB.

Richard played a pivotal role in establishing UK-based NCE (New Chemical Entity) drug discovery capabilities for Takeda before joining C4X Discovery, where he utilized the company’s innovative 4D molecule visualizer NMR technology to design novel NCEs. Currently, at Healx, Richard oversees the pipeline and preclinical drug discovery activities, applying his passion for automation and novel technologies to increase the success rate of projects reaching the clinic.

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Miguel Pignatelli

Director, Tech Strategy

Miguel has over 20 years of experience in genomics, health sciences, and biomedical research. He has been at the forefront of developing new methods for the functional annotation of genomes and metagenomes, with a focus on health and disease. Over the past decade, Miguel has applied his expertise to the creation of technological platforms aimed at revolutionizing early drug discovery.

Miguel played a pivotal role in the early development of the OpenTargets platform, a groundbreaking public-private partnership that leverages human genetics and genomics data for systematic drug target identification and prioritisation.

Since joining Healx in 2018, Miguel has spearheaded the development of critical components within the company's drug discovery pipeline. Currently, he is focused on establishing Healx’s tech strategy and roadmap, ensuring seamless alignment between the scientific and technological teams to drive innovation and advance drug discovery efforts.

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Dr David Brown

Co-Founder and Board member

David has over 40 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, covering both research and senior executive roles. During his career, he has served with four of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies: AstraZeneca, Pfizer, GlaxoWellcome, and Hoffman La-Roche.

Whilst at Pfizer he was named co-inventor on the patent for Viagra, and for 8 years he led the team that invented and developed Viagra through to proof of clinical efficacy in male impotence. The drug is also marketed for treatment of pulmonary hypertension under the trade name Revatio. He also had a pivotal role in the discovery of Relpax, a treatment for migraine. Together these drugs have achieved sales of over $40 billion.

While at Roche in Switzerland, he was a Director of the company and, as Global Head of Drug Discovery, he had responsibility for productivity of over 2000 scientists at Roche’s five research sites in the USA, Europe and Asia.

David subsequently co-founded antibody company Crescendo Biologics and serves on Healx's board as the Chair. He is a Trustee (Director) of Friends of Manjushree Vidyapith School and Orphanage (FMVSO), a charity he co-founded in 2005 to help destitute orphans in South Tibet.

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Laura Connell

Board member

Laura Connell is a Senior Partner at Atomico, the founder-built European venture capital firm. Laura leads Growth stage investing at Atomico, where she focuses on AI infrastructure and applications. Laura has recently led Atomico’s investments in DeepL, Corti, and Pelago, inter alia.

Prior to joining Atomico in 2022, Laura invested in global publicly listed technology with Marcho Partners. Before this, she was an investor at Balderton Capital, investing in private late stage leading European tech companies including Darktrace, Truecaller, Vestiaire Collective, Lendable and GoCardless. Laura spent 6 years at Goldman Sachs, first in Investment Management and subsequently in the Financial Institutions Group in M&A. Laura was a Fulbright Scholar and holds an MBA from Harvard University, a Sir William Paddy Scholar at University of Oxford where she read Philosophy and Economics (PPE) and an Assistant Researcher in the Brain Sciences Team in the Department of Medicine at Imperial College.

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Jonathan Milner

Non-Executive Chairman

Jonathan, Co-Founder and current Deputy Chairman of Abcam plc, is an entrepreneur and investor who is passionate about supporting UK life science and high-tech start-ups. He has provided considerable investment and support to over 40 companies and has assisted three technology companies to IPO on the London AIM Stock Exchange.

Jonathan gained his doctorate in Molecular Genetics at Leicester University after graduating in Applied Biology at Bath. From 1992-95, he was a post-doctoral researcher at Bath, following which he worked at the University of Cambridge in the lab of Professor Tony Kouzarides researching the molecular basis of breast cancer. He identified the market opportunity for supplying high-quality antibodies to support protein interaction studies, and in 1998, founded Abcam with David Cleevely and Professor Tony Kouzarides.

Jonathan is also a non-executive director of Healx, Shift Bioscience and Syndicate Room. He is also Chairman of Axol Bioscience, Cambridge Allergy, PhoreMost.

In 2015 Jonathan, with Professor Tony Kouzarides, co-founded the Milner Therapeutics Institute at the University of Cambridge. Also in 2015 he co-founded, with Professor Laurence Hurst, the Milner Centre for Evolutionary Studies at the University of Bath.

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Suranga Chandratillake

Board member

Suranga joined Balderton as a General Partner in 2014. He was previously an entrepreneur and engineer. Suranga founded blinkx, the intelligent search engine for video and audio content in Cambridge in 2004. He then led the company for eight years as CEO through its journey of moving to San Francisco, building a profitable business and going public in London where it achieved a peak market capitalisation in excess of $1Bn. Before founding blinkx, Suranga was an early employee at Autonomy Corporation - joining as an engineer in the Cambridge R&D team and ultimately serving as the company's US CTO in San Francisco.

Suranga has a MA in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge. He holds patents in the area of video discovery and online video advertising, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2012 and was chosen as one of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders in 2009. In 2017, Suranga joined the UK Government's Council for Science and Technology. Suranga was granted an OBE for services to technology and engineering in the 2018 UK New Year's Honours.

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Ronjon Nag

Board member

Ronjon Nag has been building AI systems for 40 years and sold companies he co-founded or advised to Motorola, RIM/Blackberry and Apple. He became a Stanford Interdisciplinary Distinguished Careers Institute Fellow in 2016, and teaches Longevity Science, AI, Genes and Ethics in the Stanford School of Medicine. He received a PhD from Cambridge, an MS from MIT, the IET Mountbatten Medal, the $1 million Verizon Powerful Answers Award, and the 2021 IEEE-SCV Outstanding Engineer Award. He is a cofounder and part owner of some 100 AI and biotech startups.

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Chiara Sommer

Board observer

Chiara Sommer is an Investment Director located in Munich. She joined Intel Capital in 2018.

Chiara focuses on opportunities in Central, Eastern and Northern European countries, especially around Cloud & AI (cyber security, developer tools, applications and data platforms) and Frontier (robotics, IoT, healthcare) investments.

Chiara currently serves as a director or observer on the board of Caresyntax, Healx and Volocopter.

Prior to joining Intel Capital, Chiara worked at High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Germany’s leading seed stage venture capital fund where she managed and completed more than 25 financing rounds (Seed, Series A & B) with leading German and international investors. She is an entrepreneur at heart and founded an online advice startup in 2011 and prior to this, she worked in Investment Banking at J.P. Morgan and Management Consulting at goetzpartners.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Studies majoring in Finance from Cass Business School in London, where she took an ERASMUS year abroad at Bocconi University in Milan. Chiara loves travelling, finding good restaurant, playing tennis and spending quality time with her family.

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