Meet the Medics Physicians Experts
Kate Owen is Medical Director in the Clinical and Medical Affairs team at Boyds. She provides clinical and medical expertise to clinical development programmes, clinical trials, regulatory strategy and medical affairs for Boyds’ client base.
Here, we learn more about her career journey, specialisms, and thoughts on the future of the drug development market.
Kate Owen
Medical Director
Can you provide a brief overview of your career to date?
I have 25 years’ experience as a pharmaceutical physician specialising in early development oncology, haemato-oncology, clinical pharmacology and ATMPs. I began my career training as an anaesthetist before working for a CRO. Following this, I spent 16 years at AstraZeneca where I worked as Medicine and Science Director. In 2016, I decided to become an independent consultant working across small molecules, biologics, medical devices and cell therapy. I then held a role as Executive Medical Director at tranScrip, before joining Boyds.
I also hold specialist registration in Pharmaceutical Medicine, and I am a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine.
What inspired you to pursue a medical career?
At school, I really enjoyed science and problem solving and felt compelled to do something worthwhile and that would make a difference to people, so medicine seemed like the ideal career. My comprehensive school wasn’t the best, and I was the only girl (out of four) in sixth form to pass A Level Physics. It was a struggle to get to university to study medicine, but it was the right choice for me. I was invited to do a year’s intercalated BSc Hons course after the second year at medical school, choosing Experimental Immunology and Oncology at the Paterson Institute, which further deepened my passion for research and problem solving.
What hurdles have you had to overcome in your career and how did you learn from them?
I was made redundant when AstraZeneca moved its R&D facility from Alderley Edge to Cambridge, having worked there for 16 years. However, this pushed me to set up as an independent pharmaceutical physician consultant, which opened up a whole new world of opportunity. I have since been lucky enough to work on really stimulating, varied projects, including oncology vaccines, triple dose finding studies, cell therapy, devices, and rare diseases with many fantastic teams, from small biotechs to large and mid-size pharma, all over the world. I’ve realised that taking a step outside your comfort zone can greatly enhance your professional experience, knowledge, development and confidence, and allow you to work in areas you would never see if you remained static in one company.
What is your greatest achievement?
This would have to be my children, but career-wise, I really enjoyed studying for my Master’s degree in Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products and was delighted when my research project was published. I believe these therapies will bring a revolutionary benefit to patients’ lives, particularly as some treatments can even be curative.
“I was also part of the team responsible for bringing the first PARP inhibitor to patients with ovarian cancer. It is now licensed for the treatment of breast, prostate and pancreatic cancers and has made a real difference to these patients’ lives. I think this must be the best incentive for working in the pharmaceutical industry.”
How do you see the industry evolving? What are the emerging trends?
I expect to see more targeted medicines tailored to treat an individual patient’s specific disease, with kinder, less toxic side effects, particularly for oncology indications.
There will also be more ‘decentralised’ clinical trials, employing remote and/or continuous digital patient monitoring, and using wearable devices and telemedicine for data collection. This will potentially allow and predict earlier safety alerts and increase clinical trial participation opportunities for patients by reducing the travelling and visit burden, together with time and cost savings for clinical facilities.
AI will play an increasingly central role across the entire drug development process, helping to shorten timelines – from de novo drug design and non‑clinical studies to clinical development and post‑marketing surveillance, including manufacturing and quality control.
Finally, and importantly, I hope that clinical trials will become more inclusive and that disparities in treatment availability across different countries will begin to close.