Whether you are a venture capital firm looking at placing several small bets on high-risk start-up, or a later stage asset management or private equating investor considering providing the larger funding required in the later stages of clinical development, two factors are inescapable - drug development is always expensive, and the failure rate will always be high.

Mrs Mackay becomes the company's first Head of Operations, having transferred from Wickham Laboratories, which she joined in 1989 as a junior Animal Technician and subsequently progressed to Section Head in 1999 and Laboratory Manager in 2006.