Linda Summerton

Linda is Chief Scientific Officer at tranScrip, where she leads a team of medics and other specialists in pharmaceutical drug development. She brings a wealth of experience in leading clinical and cross functional development teams to create strategic development options, associated clinical and regulatory development plans, and to deliver to quality, time, and cost. Asset identification, due diligence, and asset management for investment funds in the pharma and Medtech space are also part of her skill set.

Linda has worked in the global pharmaceutical industry including tranScrip, large pharmaceutical companies, small biotechnology companies and private equity ventures, for over 30 years. Although her principal areas of therapeutic expertise are oncology and respiratory, she has considerable experience in cardiovascular, infection, inflammation, and CNS.

At tranScrip, Linda’s recent experience includes interim CEO and COO for a small UK biotech, Head of Clinical Development for a European biotech, lead for regulatory interactions for scientific advice with both FDA and CHMP, lead for regulatory submissions, review and creation / critique of clinical development plans and design and delivery of medical education and training programmes for pharma personnel.

Linda was a Partner at Celtic Pharma Holdings Advisors LLP, where she was responsible for identifying assets for investment, conducting due diligence on these assets, and ensuring all investee companies had solid clinical development plans in place. She also managed assets once acquired, including roles as Head of Clinical and Preclinical Development at Cantab Biopharmaceuticals, Interim CEO at Novacta Biosystems Ltd., and CEO at Dialog Devices Ltd.

Before joining Celtic, Linda had a 16-year history in large pharmaceutical companies, predominantly in AstraZeneca where she held a variety of roles, including project director for Iressa to first registrations in Oncology and Accolate to NDA in asthma, and culminating in being Head of Strategy and Portfolio for the Oncology and Infection Therapy Area Management Team (TAMT). She was also SVP Portfolio and Project Integration (PPI) serving on the Executive Committee at Merck KGaA, and leading the portfolio steering committees for Oncology, Cardiovascular and CNS development programmes as well as managing a department of commercial and development staff.

Linda was previously on the Board of One Nucleus and is on the Board at tranScrip. She has a PhD from Cambridge UK and was the recipient of a NATO post-doctoral Fellowship.