Our team

A founding member of Onyx, Denise started her career as a Development Chemist at ChiRex, therefore has an understanding of the technical challenges of the industry. Following this role Denise moved into a Product Manager position, enhancing key account management skills. Denise joined Onyx as Business Development Manager in 2000, responsible for bringing in new business & ultimately the growth of Onyx from day one. In her role as Commercial Director, Denise is responsible for the commercial operations of Onyx ensuring continued growth and ensuring a high service level for our clients.

Following his PhD at the University of York in synthetic organic chemistry, Derek worked as a Development Chemist at CPL Aromas and ChiRex before becoming a Research Manager at Contrachem. In these roles, Derek gained valuable experience in the development for scale up for pilot and full-scale plant production in both the flavour and fragrance, and pharmaceutical arenas. Derek joined Onyx in 2001 as a Development Chemist before becoming a Laboratory Manager in 2002, Head of Chemistry in 2003 then R&D Director in 2005. In his role as R&D Director, Derek has overall responsibility for all development and manufacturing areas within Onyx.

Dani joined Pisgah Labs in 1997 as a Process Operator. Subsequent promotions to Manufacturing Operations Supervisor (2005) and Plant Manager (2016) led to Dani’s current position as Site Manager (from 2018). Dani has responsibility for all processing operations at Pisgah Labs.

As a fully qualified accountant (MSc) and an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Nathan, as Finance Director, has overall responsibility for all aspects of Onyx’s financial health and strategy.

Jules followed his PhD in medicinal chemistry and anti-cancer drug design at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne with two post-doctoral positions (Arizona State University – Natural product isolation and anti-cancer drug design and total synthesis of a novel Cephalostatin and University of Newcastle upon Tyne Cancer Research Department – various oncology programmes – drug design and synthesis). He then moved to Onyx where he has over 20 years of industrial experience in PR&D, progressing from a Chemist to Research Manager then Solid State Manager. In his role as Solid State Manager, Jules is responsible for all solid form development and preformulation activities at Onyx.

Following his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Iain has gained over 18 years of experience as a R&D and manufacturing chemist in the fine chemical and pharma industries. In 2020, Iain specialised in health and safety and completed his NEBOSH General Certificate. Iain is a member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and is responsible for health and safety at Onyx.

After obtaining a BSc (Hons) in chemical and pharmaceutical science from the University of Sunderland, Simon joined Newcastle General Hospital as an Analytical Chemist (quality control) in 1995. Following moves to Keane Analytical and ChiRex, Simon joined Onyx in 2000 as a founding member as our Analytical Manager. Simon has a wealth of experience in maintaining a fully qualified GMP analytical laboratory and his responsibilities include overseeing analytical method development, method validations and carrying out stability studies to ICH guidelines.

Chris joined Onyx in 2002 as a Development Chemist / GMP Chemist following completion of his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Following promotion to Team Leader in 2007, Chris was responsible for managing a team of Development Chemists, concurrently working on several development projects for scale up into non-GMP and GMP production. In this role, Chris gained a wealth of experience in process development, scale up and GMP regulatory matters which are all valuable in his current role; In 2022, Chris started transitioning into the commercial department and now, as a Commercial Manager, has responsibilities for the commercial operations of Onyx, including business development, marketing and ensuring a high level of service for our clients.

Following completion of his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry at the University of Durham, Richard joined Syngenta as a Research & Development Chemist in 2001 before moving to Onyx as a Development Chemist in 2002. Promoted to a Team Leader in 2007, Richard was responsible for managing a team of Development Chemists, concurrently working on several development projects for scale up into non-GMP and GMP production. In this role, Richard gained expertise in process development and scale up alongside a sound knowledge of GMP regulatory matters. Now, as R&D Manager, Richard has responsibilities in overseeing all process development for non-GMP and GMP scale up (phase I-III and commercial).

After obtaining a BSc (Hons) in chemical and pharmaceutical science from the University of Sunderland, Christine joined Sanofi as a QC Analyst in 1992. During her time at Sanofi, Christine gained experience as a Quality Control Co-ordinator, Assistant Quality Manager and Quality Documentation Review Manager before moving to Shasun Pharma Solutions in 2001 as the Operations Quality Manager. In 2012, Christine moved to Shire-Newcastle as QA Manager before joining Onyx in 2014. As QA Manager, Christine has overall responsibility for all quality related activities within Onyx Scientific.

Following completion of his MChem in medicinal and biological chemistry at the University of Edinburgh (including a 1 year student placement at AstraZeneca), Colin joined Onyx as a Development Chemist in 2010. A move into GMP production in 2015 gave Colin a proficient understanding of GMP processing and quality, and this led to promotion to a GMP Manager in 2019. Colin’s responsibilities include project management and ensuring GMP processes run smoothly and in compliance with the GMP regulatory framework.

Following completion of his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry at the University of Manchester in 1998, Michael joined Key Organics as a Synthetic Chemist. Moves to Knoll Pharmaceuticals (1999, Medicinal Chemist) and Astex Technology (2001, Medicinal Chemist) followed before Michael joined Onyx as a Chemist in 2003. Michael was subsequently promoted to Senior Chemist in 2004 before taking on a duel role as Team Leader and Deputy Health and Safety Manager in 2007. In 2015, an increased workload for our GMP team enabled Michael to move into GMP in a duel role as GMP Manager and Health and Safety Manager, where Michael cemented his knowledge of GMP production, quality and safety. Since 2022, Michael’s sole role has been as a GMP Manager and his responsibilities include project management and ensuring GMP processes run smoothly and in compliance with the GMP regulatory framework.