Eric Hayes: On a Mission to Find Better Drugs
Author
Date
BioCurate
December 16, 2020
To be the Director of Partnerships at BioCurate, a combination of skills and expertise is required. Not only is a background in biomedical research in both academia and industry a necessity, but also the ability to form and maintain a network of collaborators, and a passion for the long haul that is drug development. Dr Eric Hayes is seeking to add his particular combination of knowledge, experience and intuition to projects at BioCurate.
Eric joined BioCurate in late 2017, teaming up with Dr. Cathy Drinkwater to seed the development of the BioCurate project portfolio from initial interaction with academic researchers to project selection and through to oversight and delivery of specific project milestones. From the onset, he worked closely with inventors and liaised with the Universities and other key players in the commercialisation pipeline.
As a classically trained pharmacologist with over 25 years of scientific experience as an academic, a commercial scientist, an entrepreneur and a consultant, Eric is well versed in traversing the many stages involved in drug development and relishes the dynamic challenge of “staying across the breadth and depth of disruption and convergence of technology that is shaping new therapeutics development.”
While Eric began his career by undertaking a PhD in medical pharmacology at the National University of Singapore and then completing his postdoctoral studies at Monash University, his interest in science was sparked when he was a 12 year old track and field athlete suffering from the adverse effects of anti-histamines. He reflected, “Trying to run a sub-28 minute 8K, being on anti-histamines and left sedated with no muscle tone. There had to be better drugs.”
As part of his quest to find better drugs, Eric moved into industry where he was in two different teams that delivered compounds into the clinic for cardiac and respiratory indications, which he lists as some of his happiest career achievements thus far. Others on this list include his time in Indonesia, where he worked with colleagues to establish a contract research business that has improved the lives of young students and scientists from that country in particular, and more broadly across the Asia-Pacific region.
Eric’s passion for the ultimate goal of improving the lives of patients, empathy for researchers trying to make important discoveries under difficult circumstances and understanding what investors and potential partners need to get discoveries to patients aligns perfectly with BioCurate’s values. “The team that Glenn, Linda and Damien have assembled is awesome, the mission and vehicle are unique and the potential to have impact across the spectrum from researcher to investor to patient is inspiring.”
The team that Glenn, Linda and Damien have assembled is awesome, the mission and vehicle are unique and the potential to have impact across the spectrum from researcher to investor to patient is inspiring.
