Medicines Discovery Catapult Appoints International Entrepreneur to Bolster Commercial Expertise

Volker Hirsch has joined Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) as Chief Commercial Officer to direct the organisation's activity into impactful collaborative programmes and investments, and drive further growth within the thriving medicines discovery community.

As a technology investor and co-founder of seven companies, Volker brings outstanding international business and entrepreneurial skills. Trained as a lawyer, Volker spent over two decades in technology businesses in the UK, US, Germany and beyond, where he drove corporate strategy, growth and expansion. Before joining MDC, Volker was a Partner at Amadeus Capital – the leading high-tech investment house – and he has a successful record in Angel investment, providing capital for start-up companies.

Volker also has a strong role in regional technology development through Tech North Advocates, a not-for-profit collective promoting the role of tech in the north of England.

Volker's expertise will guide MDC's impact investment activities to help create a thriving UK drug discovery sector, enabling the Life Sciences to be one of the great drivers of growth for the UK economy, critical to the health, wealth and resilience of the nation.

MDC is reshaping the UK's medicines discovery industry, transforming great UK science into better treatments through partnership. It works to tackle industry-led challenges, overcoming the barriers that limit today's drug discovery with effective interventions and industrialising new technologies to drive the adoption of new scientific tools and techniques for discovering medicines.

Volker Hirsch, Chief Commercial Officer at MDC, said: "I have a passion for helping people and have seen first-hand how vitally important support and investment are to help innovation flourish – in medicines discovery, saving time and money can ultimately help to save lives. The talented, expert team at MDC has already significantly impacted the drug discovery sector, helping businesses overcome the challenges they face and accelerate their growth. Together, we will continue to identify more opportunities to strengthen the UK's position as a world leader in medicines discovery through impact investment – reinvesting in initiatives and partnerships for the greater good. I look forward to being part of MDC's bright and ambitious future."

Professor Chris Molloy, CEO at MDC, said: "We are thrilled to welcome Volker to our team as we enter an exciting phase of development for MDC. We have ambitious plans for growth. Volker's longstanding international corporate development expertise will be pivotal as we continue to reshape UK medicines discovery and deliver impact to the sector. By building on our current approach and adding further investment in our programmes, we will be in a position to help more companies and drive innovative growth, at the next level, for the sector's benefit."

For more information, please visit https://md.catapult.org.uk/.