ApconiX Welcomes Calum MacGregor
ApconiX is delighted to welcome Calum MacGregor who is joining the Safety Science Group as a Senior Safety Scientist and will be working with Dr James Sidaway and Dr Nicholas Coltman to support ApconiX’s Target Safety Assessment and Weight-of-evidence provisions.
Academic Career
Calum graduated from the University of Birmingham with a BSc in biochemistry where his final year project focussed on cellular calcium signalling and regulation.
Following his degree, Calum joined Sequani, a non-clinical toxicology CRO, as a study director for about five years. He was involved in various pre-clinical toxicology projects, from MTD and DRF studies, IND-enabling packages and beyond in rodents and large animals. He gained experience on both GLP and non-GLP studies.
Calum then moved to Benevolent AI, a biotech company based in London and Cambridge. He was part of the non-clinical safety team and was initially focused on projects that were in the candidate-seeking stage or later, for instance study monitoring for in-vivo toxicology studies. His team ran three IND packages to support Phase I clinical trials, and one of those projects progressed further and studies were completed to support Phase II clinical trials. Through his time at Benevolent, Calum cultivated his expertise in in-vivo toxicology studies but also broadened his skillset by getting involved in projects earlier in the portfolio, including in the target safety assessment and discovery toxicology phase. He commented “I really enjoyed the early discovery phase [because] you can be a bit more creative and the studies are very much bespoke and specific to your projects”.
Working at ApconiX
Calum first learned of ApconiX when he was working at Sequani, but he became much more familiar with the company upon joining Benevolent AI, as he became a customer and had regular meetings and mentorship from Dr Claire Sadler. After meeting with several members of the company over the years at various conferences and symposia, he eventually succumbed and joined ApconiX!
Dr Nicholas Coltman, Deputy Head of Safety Science, commented, “We are very excited to bring Calum into the fold and having known him over several years, we knew that Calum’s skillset in early discovery safety and project toxicology would further bolster our discipline areas within the Safety Science group. His experience of working across a range of different portfolios will greatly empower our customers with actionable insights that can be taken from early the Target Safety Assessment through to discovery toxicology, and beyond”
Interests outside of Work
Enjoying exercise, Calum describes himself as a very outdoorsy person. Whether it’s hiking, skiing or swimming, he enjoys fresh air and staying active. He is also a sociable person who likes meeting up with friends over the weekend.
