Alumni Profile: Matthew Cheeks

Matthew CheeksMatthew Cheeks (EMBA 2016) obtained his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge developing novel methods for lentiviral vector manufacturing, advancing the field of gene therapy. He also graduated with distinction from Oxford University’s executive MBA program in International Business.

Matthew’s career began at Lonza Biologics UK as a Lead Scientist working in the field of biopharmaceutical process R&D. Afterwards, in Europe at Polpharma, a dedicated biosimilars manufacturer, he led the establishment of commercial manufacturing processes, building out a core business function from scratch.

In 2017 Matthew joined AstraZeneca (Cambridge UK). Currently, as a Senior Director in the Biopharmaceutical Development division, he manages diverse teams delivering innovation and product pipeline activities; spanning high throughput process analytics, bench and pilot scale work, all in the lead up to first time in human studies. He also acts as a CMC team leader with responsibility over a cross functional matrix team which delivers on all CMC aspects required for taking an innovative biologic through AZ’s pipeline to registration. The scope of this role addresses a range of illnesses, notably including cancers, cardiovascular and renal diseases, as well as respiratory diseases.

In 2020 Matthew took additional, interim, leadership responsibility over DSP and analytical teams based in Speke, UK (Manufacturing Sciences and Technology team, MSAT) responsible for delivering the science and engineering behind the seasonal supply of the fluMIST / FluENZ live attenuated influenza viral vaccine product to global markets. Further, he also has a strong track record of academic partnership including various teaching commitments, scientific publications, as well as PhD students.

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