Sir Richard Brook Sykes (born 7 August 1942) is a British microbiologist, the chair of the Royal Institution, the UK Stem Cell Foundation, and the trustees at King Edward VII's Hospital, and chancellor of Brunel University. As of June 2021, he is chair of the UK's Vaccine Taskforce, where he is responsible for overseeing the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, including preparations for booster programmes and encouraging vaccine innovation in the UK.
In 1972, after gaining a first class bachelor's degree and a doctorate, both in microbiology, Sykes was appointed head of the Antibiotic Resistance Unit at Glaxo, where he helped develop the antibiotic ceftazidime. Subsequently, he was recruited by the Squibb Institute, in the United States, where he then developed aztreonam, the first clinically effective monobactam, a term he coined in 1981 to describe a new group of monocyclic β-lactams produced by bacteria. He oversaw the merger of Glaxo with Wellcome, to form Glaxo-Wellcome in 1995 and became its chair two years later. He then oversaw the Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham merger and held its chair until 2001.
His other appointments have included being rector of Imperial College from 2001 to 2008, chairman of NHS London from December 2008 to July 2010, vice-chairman of Lonza Group until 2013, and chairman of Imperial College Healthcare from 2012 to 2018.
Early life and education
Richard Sykes was born in the outskirts of Huddersfield, in West Yorkshire, on 7 August 1942 to Eric Sykes and his wife Muriel Mary Sykes. He attended Royds Hall Grammar school. Prior to his A-levels and completing school, he took up a job as a technician in a pathology laboratory. After leaving secondary school he attended Paddington Technical College and Chelsea College, and gained a place at Queen Elizabeth College where he was awarded a first class BSc degree in microbiology. In 1973, together, they reported the first β-lactamase classification scheme.
Glaxo and Squibb
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In 1972 Sykes was appointed head of the Antibiotic Resistance Unit at Glaxo. There, he helped develop the antibiotic ceftazidime. In 1979 Squibb appointed Sykes to lead research into monocyclic β-lactam antibiotics.
There, he isolated product SQ26.180 from Chromobacterium violaceum, a bacteria discovered at Pine Barrens. By modifying the amide side chain and including a ceftazidime side chain, he produced aztreonam, the first monocyclic β-lactam antibiotic. In 1981 he coined this new group of antibiotics "monobactam". It could treat gram-negative infections such as gonorrhoea and became the first monobactam to be licensed for clinical use.
From 1983 to 1986 he was vice-president of infectious and metabolic diseases at Squibb. The Harvard Business Review noted that at Glaxo, when a group of antibiotics failed in the last stages of clinical trial, Sykes praised the teams that had worked on them and encouraged them to move on. In 1995 he oversaw the merger of Glaxo with Wellcome, to form Glaxo-Wellcome. In 1997, he became chair of Glaxo-Wellcome. In 2000 he oversaw the Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham merger and held its chair until 2001. The merger resulted in the marketing of several new drugs. In 1994 he became a trustee of the Natural History Museum, London,
Later career
Imperial
In January 2001, he was appointed rector of Imperial College London and completed his tenure in 2008. At Imperial, he was involved in several controversial debates including on issues such as increasing tuition fees, which he favoured. He criticised secondary schools for the quality of the science taught there, and opposed teaching grants being awarded on a per capita basis. In 2002 he proposed to merge Imperial College with University College London. The strength of opposition meant that it did not go through.
UK Stem Cell Foundation
Sykes chairs the UK Stem Cell Foundation.
Other roles
From 2003 to 2005 he was trustee of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. In September 2008, he was appointed chair of NHS London, but resigned in May 2010 over the decision of the Cameron Ministry to halt former health minister Ara Darzi's planned reorganisation of health care in London.
Between 2010 and 2012 he was on the advisory board of the Virgin Group. He was appointed chairman of the Royal Institution in 2010 and Imperial College Healthcare in 2012. In 2020, Sykes stepped down as chairman of the NetScientific Group after serving it for nine years.
Vaccine Taskforce
In 2020 he led an independent review of the workings of the Vaccine Taskforce. On 14 June 2021, Sykes was appointed chair of the Vaccine Taskforce, where he will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of the UK's COVID-19 vaccination programme, including preparations for booster programmes and encouraging vaccine innovation in the UK.
Other activities
Sykes was chairman of the advisory panel of the think-tank Reform. He is a member of the Advisory Council for the Campaign for Science and Engineering. He is chair of the Trustees at King Edward VII's Hospital.
Awards and honours
Sykes was knighted in the 1994 New Year Honours.
He holds honorary degrees from several universities including Birmingham, Brunel, Cranfield, Edinburgh, Hertfordshire, Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Madrid, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield Hallam, Sheffield, Strathclyde, Surrey, Warwick and Westminster. Sykes was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) in 1998.
In 2009 he received the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy's Garrod Medal and delivered its accompanying lecture. It was titled "The evolution of antimicrobial resistance: a Darwinian perspective" and was published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy in 2010.
Selected publications
Articles
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