Senior leader in life sciences joins as Non-Executive Director

An experienced leader in life sciences and digital health with a wealth of experience in building and scaling healthcare businesses has joined Health Innovation North West Coast as a Non-Executive Director.

Rory Cameron began his career with over a decade at AstraZeneca, leading sales and marketing teams in oncology and primary care brands with annual revenues exceeding £100 million.

He then established a new business unit at biotechnology company Genzyme, overseeing commercial operations in several therapeutic areas and driving revenue growth from under £1 million to nearly £20 million in just three years.

Rory now works with university spinouts in their pre-clinical journey, helping to ensure product-market fit, secure funding, and build strong leadership teams.

Health Innovation North West Coast Chair Louise Robson said: “We are delighted to welcome Rory and his very extensive experience in life sciences and digital innovation.

“His experience and entrepreneurship will be invaluable as we explore new opportunities to drive adoption and spread of innovations.”

Rory said: “I am excited to join Health Innovation North West Coast as it looks to expand its portfolio. Having experience of the world of small businesses I hope I can help the organisation find ways to support innovative companies who want to build bridges with the NHS.

“I like to think I offer a blend of experiences: I know how big corporations function, but I’ve experienced what it’s like to be part of a hungry start-up.

“I’m intrigued to see how Health Innovation North West Coast can remain nimble and achieve things while respecting all the regulatory processes – how does the vision measure up against reality?”

Health Innovation North West Coast Chief Executive Dr Phil Jennings said: “Rory’s background in life sciences and industry promises to give us a fresh perspective and will help us better understand some of the challenges facing our innovative companies.”

Rory, who lives in Macclesfield, will focus on Health Innovation North West Coast’s work in Cheshire and Merseyside, while his fellow non-executive director Amanda Thornton will continue to cover Lancashire and South Cumbria.

Rory recently founded and led Gendius, a digital health company focused on metabolic diseases and predictive analytics. Under his leadership, the company developed the first regulatory-approved algorithm to assess individual risk for chronic kidney disease, deployed in partnership with AstraZeneca across more than 20 countries and screening over 500,000 patients.

Rory takes over from Mark Lawrie whose two-year tenure has ended. Chair Louise Robson said: “Mark has provided very welcome commercial insights and challenge to the Board.

“He has helped to raise ambitions for further developing our reputation and impact as leaders in innovation. We wish him and his family all the very best for the future.”