Executive Team

Michael J. Butler, Ph.D. (Chief Executive Officer)

Mike has 20 years experience in science-driven businesses in Europe, US and Asia and is motivated by the organizational challenges at the interface of science and business. Most recently, Mike was the President, Scientific Operations and Chief Scientific Officer with Aptuit. During an acquisition-driven expansion, he consolidated and integrated API, preclinical, formulation, solid state chemistry and drug product manufacturing operations. The organization grew from three locations to eight and employed 800+ staff. Mike also led efforts to penetrate large accounts using Strategic Alliance Management teams, allocated R&D investment in service-oriented solutions and managed the Scientific Advisory Board. Mike was a member of the Aptuit-Laurus Board of Directors.
Before Aptuit, he was Group Vice President at MDS Pharma Services where he managed the company’s largest operations and commercial organizations. Ten clinical and chemistry operating units were located in N. America and Europe with clients in N. America, Europe and Asia. Prior to MDS, Mike was the Group Director, Business Development for Huntingdon Life Sciences, UK.

Graham Lappin, Ph.D. (Senior Director of Science and Technology)

Dr Graham Lappin is Senior Director of Science and Technology at Xceleron. Dr Lappin received his BSc in Biochemistry (1981) and PhD (1984) from the University of Westminster (London UK). Following this he spent two years at the University of Glasgow researching into the anabolism of terpenoids in plant species. Following a period developing analytical methods for mass spectrometry, Dr Lappin joined ICI in Manchester in 1989 (later to become Zeneca and then Astra-Zeneca). Here he led a team of scientists researching into the metabolism of xenobiotics and later also managed the Mass Spectroscopy Unit. He left in 1995 to join Covance Laboratories (Harrogate UK) as a Section Manger in the Metabolism and Environmental Chemistry Department. Dr Lappin continued his work on xenobiotic metabolism in vivo and in vitro, extending this to setting up and running studies on dermal absorption. In 2001, he joined Xceleron as Head of Research and Development. Here he has helped pioneer many applications of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, including Human Microdosing. In 2006, he published a text book on the use of Radiotracers in Drug Development (CRC Taylor Francis). At the end of 2008, he became Xceleron’s head of science as Senior Director for Science and Technology and began a secondment to Xceleron’s facility in Maryland in the United States. Dr Lappin lectures at the University of York and is a Fellow of the Institute of Biology and Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK. He has served on the Institute of Biology's Council as well as the Royal Society's International Scientific Unions' Committee and is on the editorial board for Expert Opinion in Drug Metabolism and Toxicology. Graham sits on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Human Regenerate Map Project at the Karolinska Institute In Stockholm, Sweden (www.thrm.ki.se/).

Mark Seymour, Ph.D. (Director of Study Conduct)

Trained as a biochemist at University College Cardiff, Mark obtained his PhD in comparative drug metabolism (in vitro/in vivo correlations) from the University of London in 1988. He then spent 12 years in the R&D Department at the Horseracing Forensic Laboratory, conducting in vivo metabolism studies on compounds potentially used for doping racehorses, and developing analytical methods to detect their use. In 1999, he joined the Drug Metabolism Department at Covance, Harrogate, where he was involved in running regulatory pre-clinical and clinical A(D)ME studies. Mark joined Xceleron in January 2007. Throughout his career, Mark’s research activities have focused on novel detection methodologies for drugs and their metabolites, including immunoaffinity chromatography; direct coupling of gas and liquid chromatography; the use of 13C:12C ratios to detect abuse of endogenous steroids. The move to Xceleron, and the use of accelerator mass spectrometry as an ultra-sensitive, enabling technique in biomedical research, was therefore a logical progression.

Jeremy Hague (Director of European Business Development)

A graduate in Chemistry and Management Science from Imperial College, London University, Jeremy’s experience includes blue chip strategic sales and sales management roles across a range of industries. He has built and lead successful sales teams at both national and international levels with Exxon Chemical and Mars / Masterfoods with 2nd line management experience and responsibility for revenues of up to $25m p.a. Prior to joining Xceleron, he was Sales and Marketing Manager for Biological Laboratories Europe Ltd (part of the Charles River Group) focused on nonclinical services. Since joining Xceleron in 2003 Jeremy has lead the European Business Development effort and has doubled the annual territory revenues and negotiated a number of long term agreements with major pharmaceutical companies