ApconiX Welcomes Philip MacFaul
ApconiX is delighted to welcome Dr Philip MacFaul, a DMPK (Drug Metabolism and PharmacoKinetics) expert, in the Toxicology and DMPK Consultancy Team. Philip will work with Dr Richard Knight and Dr Maria Domiguez, Head of DMPK, to support clients with his extensive expertise in DMPK and chemistry background.
Career
Philip trained as a chemist and undertook BSc (Hons) and DPhil degrees in chemistry at the University of York, England. He then went to Canada for a three-year post-doctorate position in Ottawa at the National Research Council. His project focused on physical organic chemistry, studying reaction kinetics and mechanisms, which introduced Phillip to the applied aspects of chemical research.
Philip returned in the UK and joined Avecia (formerly Zeneca Specialties) in Manchester as a Research Scientist in the Ink Jet Printing Materials Research Section. Six years later, he joined AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals at Alderley Park. Designing, implementing and interpreting discovery DMPK cascades, Philip worked closely with medicinal and computational chemists to improve the DMPK and physical chemical properties of molecules. For 11 years, he worked on many drug discovery projects, supporting the medicinal chemistry efforts and bioscience, several of which progressed to the clinic.
Philip liked living in the North West too much to move to Cambridge with AZ and decided in 2015 to take on a role at RedX Pharma, a biotech company in Alderley Park. He led the analytical team who delivered physico-chemical property measurements, bioanalysis of in vitro and in vivo DMPK samples, together with analytical support to the chemistry department. He later became the DMPK team leader that supported all the projects in the discovery pipeline, delivering the analytical, DMPK and compound management needs.
Philip fortified also his expertise in DMPK in positions in CROs and CDMOs, respectively Cyprotex and Seda Pharmaceutical Development Services, where he oversaw data delivery, provided consultancy services and team support.
In 2021, Philip moved to Sygnature Discovery in Alderley Park, supporting integrated drug discovery projects from a DMPK point of view. When they offered voluntary redundancy in early 2026, Philip took the opportunity to take some well-deserved time-off, commenting “I’ve never had a career break before – I’d rarely even really had two weeks off for holidays”. He used the time to travel with his family to Canada twice, Germany, France, and also within the UK.
Working at ApconiX
After several months of travelling and enjoying family time, Philip felt like he still had more to give to the DMPK and drug discovery field. He knew of ApconiX from its start in 2015, and saw it grow over the next 10 years. Through a few chats with Dr Ken Page, DMPK consultant, Dr Claire Sadler, project toxicologist, and Richard, Philip realised consultancy would be a great way forward for him. Richard put him in touch with Maria and together they explored how his extensive experience could benefit clients.
Richard commented: “Having known Philip for many years, I knew his background and experience would be an asset to our clients and to ApconiX. We are really delighted to have him join our DMPK team and to bring his knowledge and influence to the growing capability we have in DMPK.”
Interests outside of Work
When asked about his hobbies, Philip immediately mentioned travelling, family, sports. Quite impressively, he managed to combine the 3 recently: during his summer off, Philip and his son tailored their time in Canada around numerous baseball games in Toronto where the Blue Jays were playing. Later on, they went to Paris, France, to support a Wigan Rugby League game. Philip also enjoys live music and takes any opportunity to go see a gig.
