Dr Dafydd Owen

It's not every day that millions of people worldwide are paying close attention to the discovery of a new drug. During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, Imperial alumnus Dr Dafydd Owen (Chemistry 1994), Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry at pharmaceutical company Pfizer, experienced just that.

With over twenty years experience as a medicinal chemist in the design and synthesis of drug-like molecules, Dafydd was the perfect person to lead the pre-clinical discovery team that invented PAXLOVID™ (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir), the first US FDA-authorised oral therapy for COVID-19.

We caught up with him to learn more about his work and what it felt like to have contributed to such a significant medical breakthrough, his favourite Imperial memories, and the importance of taking an interest in what matters to other people. 

What did you learn during your time at Imperial, in class or out?
A love of organic chemistry, the science and the people. I found the physical chemistry side of a chemistry degree quite tough (lots of maths!), but organic chemistry was a real joy for me. It was about building and engineering molecules that had function and utility. I took every organic chemistry option I could! Outside of the lab, the diverse, international mix of students at Imperial and living in one of the world's great cities – London – opened my eyes to many things.

Can you tell us about your studies at Imperial?
I did a three-year Chemistry degree. I had the opportunity to meet PhD students very early on in my time at Imperial, and I then set my heart on doing a PhD of my own one day. I knew that opportunity would be hard earned. I ended up completing a PhD at the University of Cambridge under the mentorship of Professor Steve Ley FRS, who was the Head of Chemistry at Imperial when I started out as an undergraduate in 1991. Steve was the epitome of all things Imperial to me. When I was offered a place in his research group, I was so pleased, as we are both very proud Imperial alumni, and that is, for so many of us, a lifelong bond forged in South Kensington.

Who did you find inspiring at Imperial and why?
At Imperial, I felt I was amongst teachers and students who knew what they wanted, had a strong desire to excel, and felt compelled to do great things through science. Their focus and discipline, as well as the excellent coursework in science, engineering and medicine, was inspiring.

What is your fondest memory of your time here?
I think my fondest memories are of some of the houses we lived in and the characters we had as housemates. Chemists, biologists, mathematicians, mechanical engineers, hockey players, opening batsmen and fast bowlers from the cricket team… In my second year, we lived in a house in Fulham with seven single bedrooms, one kitchen, and only one bathroom. If you wanted to be first in the shower in the morning, you needed to be up by 7am. I am an early starter to this day thanks to that training!

What is your favourite place at Imperial and why?
It's no longer there, but I’d have to say Southside Bar. I lived in Falmouth-Keogh Hall above that bar in my first year. It wasn't the flashiest of places for sure, but on just my second night as an undergraduate I met a number of people who went on to be great friends, mentors, and even future colleagues. Little did we know that at the time, and I often wonder which way things would have gone had I not gone out that night. The people I met that evening were very talented PhD students and postdocs who have gone on to achieve amazing things in their respective fields post-Imperial.

Tell us a bit about the work you’re doing now. 
I am a Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry for Pfizer in Cambridge, Massachusetts now. Medicinal chemists design and make molecules as part the drug discovery process in the pharmaceutical industry.

How has what you learnt at Imperial helped you in your career so far?
While a number of degrees are a good general preparation to then learn once you are in a job, I still use knowledge that I was taught and examined on as an undergraduate at Imperial. Courses in organic synthesis and physical organic chemistry remain directly applicable to my job even 30 years later! I've certainly learned a lot at Pfizer too, but it's great that my degree is so directly relevant to the job I enjoy so much every day.

What have been your career highlights and lowlights?
It has to be my experience in leading the pre-clinical discovery team that invented PAXLOVID, the first US FDA-authorised oral therapy for COVID-19. Early in the pandemic, Pfizer set out to discover not only a vaccine but a therapeutic as well. When you realise that it normally takes about 13 years from starting a drug discovery programme to a drug being approved for use outside a clinical trial, the task ahead of us was unprecedented and daunting. I'm so proud that our team beat those odds and set a record for small molecule drug discovery. The work was featured on the front cover of Science in December 2021. To have achieved this with respect to a publication is a real honour for any scientist, but it still comes distant second to knowing we are helping to treat people suffering from COVID-19 with the goal of saving lives. It's been amazing to have made a difference to something that was affecting the whole world, and I'm proud that, through science, researchers around the world are advancing potential solutions for the challenges that our planet faces.

I was once described as a “glass three quarters full” person, so I'm not one for dwelling on career lows per se. As many in this field know, most molecules do not end up being approved drugs, which can be frustrating and disappointing for those who have worked on the preclinical programmes. I’ve certainly worked on molecules that had made it into clinical trials before but have not made it, and – whether it's stroke, cancer, heart disease or rare genetic disorders – it's not lost on me how we need to keep working hard on better options for patients in need.

What does a typical day look like for you now?
As a project leader in drug discovery, the role is certainly beyond the scope of your own particular scientific discipline. While I happen to be a medicinal chemist trained in organic chemistry, my job is to bring together all the sciences that you need to discover a drug, for example pharmacology, toxicology, drug metabolism, virology, structural biology, organic synthesis, computational chemistry and molecular design. I'm certainly not the expert in all of those, but I have the privilege of working with people who are. After 23 years at Pfizer, I understand the components and complexities of drug discovery, and as a project leader, I have to help the team navigate it all as one. Even with all that talent and experience on the team, it's really hard to discover a molecule that is safe and efficacious enough to be approved as a drug, but that remains the goal for everyone at Pfizer and across our industry every day.

What are your plans for the future?
This is certainly a good moment in my life to reflect. I just turned 50, both my children have gone to university, and being part of the first authorised oral therapy for COVID-19 will certainly be hard to beat scientifically and professionally! Having said that I really enjoy the very earliest stages of drug discovery and picking the right biology to tackle with our molecules from chemistry. If you can get that right from the beginning, the world of bioscience, both industrial and academic, could be so much more efficient when deploying our precious research dollars. I really enjoy collaborating with academia. I know that Pfizer doesn't have all the answers and that there are parts of academia who are interested in seeing their innovation translated. I'm here to bridge that gap.

What would be your advice for current students?
You are a long time in a job! There's plenty of time for that in life. I actually signed up to do Chemistry with year in France as my degree at Imperial. This would have meant a year in Paris and a four-year degree. Having my sights set on a PhD very early on, I thought seven years at university sounded like a very long time rather getting it done in six years. I didn't do that year in France, and I regret it to this day. Enjoy these precious years in life to the fullest - while still having a plan.

Don’t let a pivotal moment pass you by. What if I hadn't been sociable on my second night at college and met the people I did? What if I hadn't asked a question, introduced myself or asked for help at one stage or another? Take an interest in everyone else. Life is not just about what's happening to you!

What makes you proud to be an Imperial alumnus?
I felt a huge sense of pride returning to Imperial's White City campus recently to give a seminar on the discovery of PAXLOVID. Some of the people who taught me 30 years ago came to watch. It just struck me how committed teachers and researchers at Imperial have influenced so many young people to go on and do their best, wherever they end up professionally. I learned from the very best, and I treasure my undergraduate years that set me out on my own particular path into science as a career.

What one word or phrase would you use to describe Imperial alumni?
Ready.

Do you have a favourite quote or saying?
"Winning from the beginning." I made that up in the context of my work in drug discovery, but it reminds me that making good decisions early on makes whatever comes next a lot easier!