John Dent, Ph.D.

John, a Principal and Chief Science Advisor, has been a consultant for three years following a 25-year career in global Research and Development leading Consumer and Pharmaceutical Divisions of GlaxoSmithKline. John has built and developed R&D organizations that delivered innovative drugs, over-the-counter medicines and fast-moving consumer goods.

As senior Vice President of GSK Consumer Healthcare R&D, John’s organization delivered significant prescription to over-the-counter switches in the USA, Europe and Japan. These included smoking cessation products and Alli®, the only FDA approved nonprescription weight loss product. He was responsible for the worldwide development of new products With an annual budget of $170 million, a staff of 700 and research facilities in the UK, Germany, India and the USA., John has a broad experience in the worldwide leadership of innovation and product development.

John has been involved in two major acquisitions (Sterling Drug and Block Drug) and in two mergers (Smith Kline & French with Beecham and SmithKline Beecham with Glaxo, underscoring his extensive, experience in combining and integrating R&D organizations and businesses.

Prior to joining the Consumer Healthcare division, John served as Senior Vice President for Preclinical Development in the Pharmaceutical Division of SmithKline Beecham. In this capacity, he led 1200 scientific and professional staff responsible for Preclinical Safety, Pharmaceutics, Chemical Development, Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics. This global R&D leadership role included the management of 160 professional staff in Japan.

Currently, John serves on the Board and chairs the Finance Committee of the Hamner Institutes for Health Science. He is the author of more than 60 scientific publications.

John holds a B.Sc. (Hons) from the University of Wales and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Surrey in England.