Advisory Committee

Rick has worked for the European industry association since 1997 and comes from a background of product development and registration of veterinary medicinal products. In this role he is in regular dialogue with decision makers within the European institutions and the European medicines regulatory network with the principle aim of supporting the smooth running of regulatory systems. He is also coordinator for the European industry representation to the International Cooperation on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Veterinary Medicinal Products (“VICH”).  He has a degree in Applied Biology, a diploma in Marketing and he is an Honorary Life member of TOPRA.

Ned has over 20 years’ experience in the animal health industry and is currently General Manager of Norbrook GB and also the current Chair of NOAH.

Prior to his current role , Ned was UK Country Manager for Krka (2017 t0 2023) and held senior positions in Zoetis from 2010 to 2017 including Business Unit Director, Companion Animal & Equine and Group Director, Digital Innovation, Europe, Africa & Middle East. Prior to joining Zoetis, Ned was Operations Director, Companion Care with Pets at Home which he joined from AkzoNobel. Ned held a number of roles in AkzoNobel progressing to Business Unit Director, Companion Animal, Intervet UK.

Ned started his career in the Royal Navy, and holds a BSc in Animal Science from Wye College, London University and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management.

Stuart has played a pivotal role in growing the Technology Solutions division within MSD Animal Health over the past 5 years.  This has been achieved through numerous acquisitions, minority investments and licensing agreements across species and technologies.  Stuart has a background in Corporate Finance and joined MSD via the acquisition of Antelliq, a leader in digital animal identification, traceability and monitoring solutions.

Theo Kanellos qualified as a veterinarian from the Aristotle University of Thessalonica in Greece and has been awarded an MSc in microbiology and PhD in molecular medicine from the University of London. He also has a business diploma from the Ecole Supérieur de Commerce de Paris (ESCP). During his career he worked as a clinician, an academic, a governmental official and for the last seventeen years as part of the management within the Pharmaceutical Industry where he has held several strategic roles. He has managed research laboratories, business development and M&A transactions, scientific and multi-functional alliances teams and programmes in several organisations that have led to the spinoff of biotechnology companies, the award of significant scientific grants, the founding of major strategic partnerships and the registration and licensing of successful commercial products and services. He also led Intergovernmental animal health Tender Businesses. In his current role as the Global Head of Innovation and Corporate Alliances at CEVA he is responsible both for the internal and external innovation portfolio of the company which spans between, Pharma, Biopharma, Biologicals, Direct to Consumer and Digital products for companion animals and livestock. He also establishes business transactions and entrepreneurial partnerships with companies, venture capitalist groups, universities, and governmental institutions, internationally. He is an ad-hoc advisor in several EU and national scientific and veterinary organisations. He is the author of over 40 peer reviewed papers and co-author of the international regulatory affairs book. His articles, presentations and interviews have also featured in many trade and public media.

Steve Nanchen has been working for more than 15 years in the Animal Health Industry. Steve holds a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Basel, Switzerland. After a postdoctoral stay at Stanford University in the US, Steve started his industrial career as a medicinal chemist at Novartis Animal Health. Since then, he has held various positions in R&D, leading global projects from early discovery to late phase. Steve has been working in the  External Innovation group of Elanco Animal Health for the last 5 years and he is leading the team since 2022. During the course of his work, Steve contributed to the successful development and launch of several key Animal Health products. through external and internal coordination.

Pontes serves as a Research Alliances lead for Europe and Associate Director for External Innovation at Zoetis. With 15 years of experience in the animal health industry, Eduardo spent the last 10 years of his career in external innovation and business development roles. Eduardo has successfully led multiple licensing deals and research collaborations across the globe with external partners in academia, governmental agencies, research institutes, start-ups and larger multinational corporations, enabling the development and launch of several animal health products including pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, vaccines, diagnostics, biodevices, and digital solutions. He is passionate about transforming high quality scientific discoveries into innovative solutions to improve the health and wellbeing of animals and their caretakers. Eduardo earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 2008 from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and holds an MBA degree with focus on strategic management of technology and innovation from the State University of Campinas, Brazil.

While I am currently in charge of external innovation in oncology, immunology and inflammation segments, I have more than 25 years of experience in research and development of immunological products for animal health. As a veterinarian with a background in virology and immunology, I occupied different functions within the R&D organization of Rhône-Mérieux, Merial and Boehringer-Ingelheim Animal Health.

Dr Scott Roberts has 20 years’ experience in musculoskeletal research and has worked in both academia and industry (UCB Pharma). During his time in industry, he oversaw early development of skeletal drug targets as Project Lead and was in Romosozumab (anti-sclerostin antibody) and Bimekizumab (anti-IL-17A/F antibody) research teams; both drugs are now approved for clinical use. Other areas of research focus include stem cell biology, regenerative medicine and matrix mineralisation (including the characterisation of PHOSPHO1). Scott has published >50 peer-reviewed papers (h-index of 31), attracted >£3M in research funding as PI/Co-I and filed 4 patents. He is on the committee of the ‘Bone Research Society’, holds several academic appointments including Reader in Translational Skeletal Research at the RVC, Honorary Associate Professor at UCL and Visiting Senior Lecturer at KCL. He is also currently convenor of the Bloomsbury Centre for Skeletal Research.

I have been involved in the Animal Health industry since qualifying as a vet from Royal Veterinary College in 1997.  Since then I have worked as a first opinion vet in companion animal and equine practice and a technical vet in industry before moving into marketing roles both in the UK and at Global level in multinational companies.  I currently hold the position of UK General Manager at Animalcare.  Through my career I have gained insight into parasitology, vector-borne diseases, dermatology, cardiology, osteoarthritis, gastroenterology and the microbiome which is an area of interest that spills over into daily life.

Experienced Operational Business Head and Veterinarian with a successful track record in the Animal Health Sector. Skilled in Leadership, Strategy, Business Development, Team Building and People Development. Across Species knowledge including Pet, Livestock, Equine and Avian in both Veterinary Channel and Retail.