Claire Thompson

Claire is a multi-award-winning entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, spanning large multinationals (GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer), virtual biotech, and Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisations (CDMOs). She is the Founder and CEO of Agility Life Sciences, a formulation development CDMO which supports pharmaceutical and biotech companies in developing formulations that give badly behaved molecules the best chance of success in preclinical studies and allow them to be accelerated to the clinic. Claire is an Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Cambridge where she helps academics translate their research into healthcare products and platforms. She also holds an Honorary Professorship at the University of Nottingham. Named in the Medicine Maker Power List in 2022, and the inaugural recipient of the One Nucleus “Life Science Inspiration of the Year” award in 2021, Claire is passionate not just about the process of getting medicines to patients, but the people involved in the development. One of her mantras is “People and purpose over products and profits”. Claire was formerly Deputy Chief Scientist of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and Chief Scientist of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences. She has made appearances for the BBC (Health: Truth or Scare), ITV News, and Channel 4 (Food Unwrapped) to illustrate the science behind medicines in a way that engages the public, and demonstrates to girls where science can take them. Claire is passionate about providing opportunities for women and girls to excel in whatever they do. She Chairs the global FIP WiSE (Women in Science and Education) initiative to engage, enable and empower girls and women, professionally or personally. As a former international footballer, Claire launched and fully funds the Girls In Football Teams (GIFT) Grants scheme, which currently supports more than 30 girls' and women’s teams across the UK.