John Horton

Chair

John Horton is a medical practitioner with over 30 years of experience in drug development in industry. For much of this time he has worked on Neglected Tropical Diseases including malaria, soil transmitted helminthiasis, leishmaniasis, diarrhoea, and TB, and was the moving force behind the tropical disease initiatives in GlaxoSmithKline. He was closely involved in the establishment of the Medicines for Malaria Venture and the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development. As an industry member of the WHO/IFPMA working party, he was instrumental in elevating ‘Neglected Diseases’ into the public arena, while at the same time ensuring involvement of GlaxoSmithKline in Public Private Partnerships with the WHO to develop drugs for tropical diseases and affordable access to modern pharmaceutical products in public health. He was deeply involved in the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF), having initiated both the original studies that formed the basis of the programme, and the concepts behind the global programme, and continues with scientific involvement in the area. Although technically retired, he continues to support public health programmes and new drug development as a consultant to the WHO and to drug development consortia.

His involvement with the Malaria Consortium began in 2003 when it was first established as a Charity and continued as a Trustee until 2010. He continued involvement with the Consortium as a member of the Board of Malaria Consortium US since 2010, becoming the Board Chair in 2018.