PEOPLE
The team
Three founders who spent much of their careers building, protecting and launching the first approved cannabinoid medicines.
Giles Moss
Chief Executive Officer and co-founder
Giles has more than thirty-five years in the pharmaceutical industry, spanning company creation, commercialisation, licensing, fundraising and global operations, with experience across orphan medicines, central nervous system disorders and cannabinoid therapeutics.
He was Vice President and General Manager Europe at GW Pharmaceuticals, where he created and led the European commercial organisation and oversaw the launch of Epidyolex across Europe. As Head of International Operations, Government and Public Affairs he established GW's European infrastructure, growing it from three people to more than a hundred and fifty. He was later Chief Executive of Sapient Therapeutics, where he led an initial Phase 1 programme to completion and established the United States regulatory strategy through a pre-IND meeting with the FDA.
Earlier he founded PBL Solutions and AFT Orphan Pharmaceuticals, licensing more than thirty pharmaceutical products across Asia-Pacific, and held senior international roles at UCB, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sandoz and SmithKline Beecham. He holds a BSc in Pharmacy from the Victoria University of Manchester and an MBA from Henley Management College, and is a Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
Dr Christopher Hayes
Non-executive director and co-founder
Chris is a non-executive director and an inventor on the company's patent portfolio. Chris has been involved in the R&D and commercialisation of a number of approved medicines and in developing commercial exclusivity strategies for pharmaceuticals. He provides strategic advice to the Board as required, drawing on his expertise in R&D, product development, intellectual property and regulatory strategy.
He was Vice President, Intellectual Property, R&D Legal Lead and Associate General Counsel at GW Pharmaceuticals and Jazz Pharmaceuticals, where he led the intellectual property due diligence supporting Jazz's $7.2 billion acquisition of GW and was responsible for global intellectual property strategy, regulatory exclusivity and commercial transactions. He was previously Chief Intellectual Property Officer and Head of Legal at Pangea Botanica, and before returning to industry practised as a partner in pharmaceutical intellectual property and commercial law.
He began his career as a molecular geneticist, holding research fellowships at the University of Oxford and the Medical Research Council before senior scientific, medical and legal roles at Merck Sharp & Dohme, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Lundbeck. He holds a DPhil in Molecular Genetics from Oxford, degrees in genetics and law, is a qualified barrister and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. He is also Chief Executive of Sonas Pharmaceuticals (N.I.) Limited.
Dr Emma Cheetham
Non-executive director and co-founder
Emma is a non-executive director. She provides strategic advice to the Board as required, drawing on her expertise in intellectual property and cannabinoid drug development, having been involved in the development of Sativex and Epidiolex at GW Pharmaceuticals.
During a twenty-year career at GW Pharmaceuticals and Jazz Pharmaceuticals she played a key role in the development and protection of the first approved cannabinoid-derived medicines. She directed global portfolios of more than 250 patent families, including the Orange Book-listed patents supporting Epidiolex, and managed annual intellectual property budgets of around £10 million. She supported major corporate transactions including the acquisition of GW by Jazz.
She is co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Sonas Pharmaceuticals (N.I.) Limited, and through her own consultancy advises several life sciences companies on portfolio strategy, freedom to operate, licensing and regulatory exclusivity. She holds a BSc and a PhD.