Turning Drug Discovery Science into Delivered Medicines
Two marketed drugs. Three partnering deals worth over $1 billion. Multiple clinical candidates across cardiovascular, CNS, oncology, respiratory, addiction and inflammation — including both oral and inhaled approaches.
I bring over 30 years of hands-on drug discovery experience — from academic spin-outs to large pharma — to help your project make the right decisions at the right time. Whether you're a biotech startup, investor, academic institution, charity, CRO, or established pharma company, I offer the strategic insight and practical expertise to mitigate risk, improve efficiency, and move your science forward.
My vision is to help get those promising ideas to patients.
About Me
Barrie Martin has over 30 years of experience in drug discovery, spanning from academic spin-outs to large pharmaceutical companies. His expertise covers all phases of development, from target identification and evaluation through to candidate selection and IND-enabled projects.
At AstraZeneca, he contributed to multiple successful lead optimisation projects that resulted in clinical candidates for MCT1, P2X7, inhaled p38, and P2Y12. This work includes the marketed drug Ticagrelor, which is used to prevent serious cardiac events. He also helped establish a team focused on evaluating very early-stage projects, including hit-finding from high-throughput screening and other chemistry-led opportunities.
At C4X Discovery, he was instrumental in building the company from the original founders and board into a successful biotech with three successful partnering deals of potential value of up to $1 billion. This included the selective orexin 1 project, which he led from the original project pitch to the successful licensing of a Phase 1-ready compound, including drug substance GMP synthesis and full IMPD documentation. He also led the IL17 project from inception to a successful partnership with Sanofi and subsequent milestones toward candidate selection.
Where I Can Help
I offer flexible consultancy — from one-off strategic advice to fully embedded project leadership — drawing on more than 30 years of experience across companies ranging from 4 to 40,000 people, and at every stage of drug discovery.
Drug Discovery
- Scientific project leadership — target evaluation, compound design strategy and candidate selection
- Project management — CRO selection and oversight, timelines, budgets and multi-partner coordination
- Hit finding and HTS triage
- Hit-to-lead and lead optimisation
- Candidate selection and IND/IMPD filing support
- Synthetic chemistry support from early discovery through to GMP Campaign 1
Strategic & Commercial
- Project and target due diligence
- Investor and partnering support
- Patent litigation expert witness support
Interactive Tools
Scientific tools to support drug discovery decisions. More tools coming soon.
Tools coming shortly.
Selected Résumé
Bionow Project of the Year — "Development of Orexin-1 Receptor Antagonists for the Treatment of Addiction". 2018
The Malcolm Campbell Memorial Prize — "Development of Brilinta™/Brilique™". 2013
- IL17 project — €414 million licensing agreement with Sanofi with €18 million from upfront and milestone payments to date
- Therapeutic compounds. WO2025248073
- Benzoxazoles as modulators of IL-17A. WO2025104230
- Preparation of amino acid amides as IL-17A modulators. WO2021239745
- Preparation of amino acid amides as IL-17A modulators. WO2021239743
- NRF2 activators — $402 million global licensing deal with AstraZeneca with $13 million from upfront and milestones to date
- Preparation of tetrahydroisoquinoline compounds as NRF2 activators. WO 2021214472
- Preparation of substituted isoquinolines as Nrf2 activators. WO 2020084300
- Selective Orexin 1 inhibitors — $284 million licensing agreement with Indivior; raised $30 million from upfronts and divestment. C4X_3256/INDV-2000 currently in Phase 2 for treatment of opioid addiction
- Preparation of pyridine carboxamide derivatives as orexin-1 receptor inhibitors. WO 2017129829
- Preparation of amide derivatives as orexin-1 receptor inhibitors. WO 2016034882
- Inhaled p38α MAP kinase inhibitors — led to the discovery of AZD7624 which reached Phase 2 for the treatment of COPD
- The design and SAR of a novel series of DFG out p38α MAP kinase inhibitors. 241st ACS national meeting, Anaheim, USA, 2011.
- Preparation of isoquinolinone derivatives and their use for the treatment of COPD and asthma. WO2008122765
- Preparation of isoquinoline derivatives as inhibitors of cytokine mediated diseases. WO2007149031
- P2X7 receptor antagonists — identification of several Phase 1-enabled compounds as back-ups to AZD9056
- Adamantyl derivatives as P2X7 receptor antagonists, their preparation, pharmaceutical compositions, and use in therapy. WO2006025783
- Preparation of quinolyl amides as new P2X7 receptor antagonists. WO2004106305
- MCT1 blockers — led to the identification of AZD3965, a first-in-class compound which showed promising efficacy in a Phase 2 oncology study
- Optimization of Monocarboxylate Transporter 1 Blockers through Analysis and Modulation of Atropisomer Interconversion Properties. J. Med. Chem. 2007, 50(2), 254–263.
- Potent blockers of the monocarboxylate transporter MCT1: Novel immunomodulatory compounds. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2006, 16(8), 2260–2265.
- Optimisation of Monocarboxylate Transporter 1 Blockers through modulation of Atropisomer Interconversion Properties. 4th Anglo Swedish Medicinal Chemistry Symposium, Åre, Sweden, 2009.
- A simple and efficient synthesis of optically pure 4-alkylisoxazolidin-4-ols. Tetrahedron Letters 2006, 47(43), 7635–7639.
- Thienopyrimidinediones: The synthesis of novel orally active immunosuppressive agents. Royal Society of Chemistry synthetic chemistry symposium, University of Leicester, 2004.
- P2Y12 receptor antagonists — led to the identification of two marketed drugs: Cangrelor (used during percutaneous coronary intervention) and Ticagrelor/Brilinta (prevention of serious coronary events)
- From ATP to AZD6140: The discovery of an orally active reversible P2Y12 receptor antagonist for the prevention of thrombosis. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2007, 17(21), 6013–6018.
- P2Y12(P2T) Receptor Antagonists: The asymmetric synthesis of substituted phenylcyclopropylamines. Royal Society of Chemistry synthetic chemistry symposium, University of Sheffield, 2003.
- SAR Towards AZD6140: A Novel Orally Active P2Y12(P2T) Receptor Antagonist. 14th Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry, Hatfield, 2003.
- Preparation and use of 1,2,3-triazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidines as P2T receptor ligands. WO2002038571
- Miscellaneous
- Therapeutic compounds (MALT 1 inhibitors). WO2025104411
- The conformational musings of a medicinal chemist (acknowledgement). Drug Discov. Today 2014, 19(3), 320–325
- The application of ligand conformational preferences in drug discovery. ELRIG Drug Discovery, Manchester, UK, 2012
- The application of ligand conformational preferences in drug discovery. ZING Medicinal Chemistry Conference, Lanzarote, Spain, 2012
- Molybdenum-mediated synthesis of quinazolin-4(3H)-ones via cyclocarbonylation using microwave irradiation. Tetrahedron Letters 52 (2011) 3793–3796
- Discovery of Isoindoline and Tetrahydroisoquinoline Derivatives as Potent, Selective PPARδ agonists. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2011, 21(1), 492–496.
- Oxidative Pd(II)-Catalyzed C−H Bond Amination to Carbazole at Ambient Temperature (acknowledgement). J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2008, 130(48), 16184–16186.
Connect on LinkedIn