Christopher Floyd

Dr Christopher Floyd is a Director of Discovery Medicine at GSK, and Visiting Senior Lecturer at King’s College London.
 

What is your career pathway to date (including qualifications)?

I studied pre-clinical medicine at the University of Cambridge, before completing my medical degree at the Royal Free and University College Medical School (now UCL Medical School) in 2007.  During the foundation programme I developed an interest in acute illness and so accepted an ACCS (acute medicine) training post at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT). Exposure to clinical research (and clinical pharmacologists!) led to me reading for a PhD in the ‘Proteomics of Aspirin Resistance’ at King’s College London (KCL).

After completion of my PhD, I re-joined clinical training (CPT with GIM) at St Bartholomew’s and The London Hospital, where I spent two years training in acute/general medicine, cardiovascular medicine, and hypertension.  I then returned to KCL/GSTT as a NIHR Clinical Lecturer to continue clinical training (including acute/general medicine, toxicology, Phase 1, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia) in parallel to cardiovascular research and working with NICE.  These activities were supported by gaining various qualifications include a Certificate in Pharmaceutical Medicine, a Diploma in Advanced Pharmacology (previously offered by BPS), and Fellowship of the Higher Education Authority.

On completion of my clinical training, I transitioned to working in drug discovery at GSK in 2021.  I no longer deliver direct clinical care but remain accountable for medical governance of early-phase studies.  I remain active in research through ongoing links with KCL.
 

What do you do, and what is a typical week for you?

The main focus of my role is clinical strategy and the conduct of early-phase clinical studies. This includes providing clinical guidance to target discovery efforts (e.g. disease selection or stratification), building the translational plan (e.g. evidence that a pre-clinical readout will result in clinical efficacy) and clinical study design to increase confidence in assets before Phase 2.

Work will vary depending on what stage assets are in their development, but a typical week will include pre-clinical and clinical team meetings, medical monitoring activities, literature review, discussions with academic collaborators, drafting of internal/regulatory documents and governance activities.  There is usually also time to attend educational seminars and explore areas of personal interest.
 

What’s the most interesting aspect of your job?

As a clinician, I’m involved in most aspects of drug development as, ultimately, we’re trying to develop the right drug for the right patient to be used at the right time.  This means I will regularly have discussions with colleagues from genomics, chemistry, biomarkers, computational science, biology, regulatory, commercial, and epidemiology to name but a few. This collaborative approach to problem solving means I am always learning something new.
 

What are your research interests?

As a clinical academic I was interested in cardiovascular risk and focused on clinical strategies to optimise antiplatelet and antihypertensive therapies.  I continue an academic interest in personalised strategies to optimise blood pressure control.  In my current role I work across many different disease areas.
 

How do you see your career progressing in the future?

There are many opportunities for clinicians within pharma, especially for those with a clinical pharmacology background. However, I expect I will remain in drug discovery as I really enjoy the challenge of applying new technologies to target identification and their subsequent translation into a medicine.
 

What three pieces of advice would you give someone keen on developing a career in your area of work?

1. Explore.  Clinical pharmacology encompasses every aspect of medicine, research, and education.  Find the element that you want to build a career around.
2. Network.  Most of my professional opportunities have arisen from talking to people about what interests them.  We’re a friendly community so please reach out!
3. Plan.  Consider how you can evidence your achievements and demonstrate the value of your skills.  This is crucial for securing the post-CCT job you want.