Neil was awarded a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Nottingham in 1987, having completed undergraduate study at the University of Bristol. Following postdoctoral research at Ohio State University, Neil joined Glaxo in 1989, where he led successful teams working on both lead generation and lead optimization programmes. In 2001 Neil joined OSI Pharmaceuticals firstly as Associate Director of Oncology Chemistry and from 2003 as Director of UK Discovery Chemistry. Neil joined Piramed Ltd in 2006 as Director of Chemistry, focused on preclinical and clinical programmes targeting the PI3 Kinase pathway, which led to the acquisition of Piramed by Roche in 2008.

Neil has worked in several therapeutic areas, including Oncology, Immune/Inflammation, Pain, CNS and Cardiovascular Disease with direct involvement in multiple compounds progressing into clinical trials, and has managed external collaborations and contracts in Europe, US and China. Neil has published over 25 papers in peer review journals and is an inventor on more than 30 patents. Neil also acts as an advisor to VC’s and biotech companies.