Career Journey - Pharmaceutical/Medtech industry

Martin Mackay is the co-founder of Rallybio, was CEO for 5 years and now Chairs the Board of Directors. The company was formed in 2018 to develop transformative therapies for patients with devastating rare and ultra-rare diseases. There are 2 assets in the clinic and a robust preclinical portfolio.

Martin has worked in Pharmaceutical and Biotech R&D for over 30 years including leadership roles at Ciba-Geigy, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Alexion in the UK, Switzerland and USA.

He was Head of R&D at Alexion Pharmaceuticals where he led a group of over 600 scientists and oversaw the growth of the company from a 1 product, Soliris, 2 indications, Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) and atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS), enterprise to 4 products, Soliris, Strensiq, Kanuma and Ultomiris and 7 indications, PNH (2), aHUS, refractory Myasthenia Gravis, Neuromyelitis Spectrum Disorder, Hypophosphatasia and Lysosomal Acid Lipase Deficiency. Moreover, he led the growth of the R&D portfolio to over 30 Research programs, over 30 Biotech and academic alliances and 10 Clinical Development programs with key product readouts over the next decade.

Prior to Alexion, he was Head of R&D at AstraZeneca from 2010-2013, where he led a global organisation responsible for discovering and developing new medicines across a range of disease areas, Respiratory & Inflammation, Oncology, Infectious Diseases, Cardiovascular, Gastrointestinal and Neuroscience. He oversaw over 10,000 colleagues in Discovery Research, Drug Development, Clinical Development & Operations, Regulatory Affairs, Pharmaceutical Development, Drug Metabolism & Pharmacokinetics, and Business Functional Support Lines and managed an annual R&D budget of over $5b. Notable launches during this period included Brilinta, Farxiga and Caprelsa.

At Pfizer, he spent 15 years from 1995-2010, in positions of increasing responsibility and led the R&D and Pharmaceutics organizations. This included an international network of pharmaceutical R&D professionals in Research, Clinical Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Safety. Under his leadership, the organization advanced a portfolio of investigational medicines in several Research Units including, Respiratory, Infectious Diseases, Cardiovascular & Metabolic Diseases, Genitourinary, Neuroscience, Oncology, and Pain. He worked closely with Business Development on major acquisitions, licensing and strategic alliances. The company launched Xeljanz, Xalkori and Eliquis and prior to that, notable launches included Selzentry, Chantix, Sutent and Lyrica.

Martin obtained a First-Class Honours degree in Microbiology from Heriot-Watt University and his PhD in Molecular Genetics from the University of Edinburgh. His postdoctoral studies on developing a vaccine for malaria was conducted at the University of Edinburgh and funded by the Medical Research Council and Hoffmann-La Roche.

Martin is a member of the Board of Directors of Charles River Laboratories (2017-present) where he Chairs the Responsible Animal Use Committee and is a member of the Science and Technology Committee. He is a member of the Novo Nordisk Board of Directors (2018-present) where he Chairs the R&D Committee and is a member of the Remuneration Committee. He is a member of the Board of Directors of SpringWorks Therapeutics where he sits on the R&D and Remuneration Committees. He is a Scientific Advisor at Pivotal BioVenture Partners and on the External Advisory Board of Boston Children’s Hospital.