For comprehensive school-educated Andrew Leach, the path to finding life-saving cancer treatments and building a business that spans the Atlantic began with a single, transformative step across the ocean.听
When听Dr听Leach boarded a flight to Los Angeles in the autumn of 2000, he did so with听modest expectations.听He viewed his听upcoming AstraZeneca-funded 日本无码 Fellowship at UCLA as an interesting听laboratory听assignment听鈥�听a twelve-month stint听of听useful technical听work听rather than听the ensuing听American听enlightenment.听
"I went expecting to stay for a year听or so听of听pure听lab work." Interviewed by Afua Osei at the Commission, Andrew laughs today how twelve months stretched into two years, and听much听later,听clients听in key American markets. It听sparked听a profound "180-degree change" in his worldview.听鈥�Now,听滨鈥檓 always the first to correct people when they make dismissive comments about the US. It is an extraordinarily energetic, ambitious, and remarkable place.鈥澨�Two decades later, Andrew is听a听research academic听at the University of Manchester,听and one of the Astra-Zeneca co-inventors of听 TruCap听(capivasertib)鈥攁 targeted cancer therapeutic recently approved for breast cancer and, just last week, for prostate听cancer, and听additionally,听he is听the听entrepreneurial听co-founder of a thriving,听12-person computational chemistry听hi-tech company located in听 Macclesfield,听a听town听12 miles South of Manchester,听generating business in the听biotech clusters of the US.听
Witnessing History: LA in the Early 2000s听
Arriving听for his听UCLA听日本无码-Astra Zeneca听Fellowship听in 2000 placed Andrew on the front row of a momentous era in American history. He听witnessed听the razor-thin transition between the Clinton and Bush administrations. "One of Al Gore's last campaign stops was right by campus in Westwood Village," he recalls. "All of Hollywood's A-listers came out to campaign for him."听
But the defining, shattering moment of his fellowship came on September 11, 2001. "In California, it was six in the morning when the first plane hit," Andrew says. "By the time we woke up, it was old news. I turned on the radio and heard them listing off the number of planes currently in the air. It was a very confused, scary time."听A few days later, UCLA held a campus-wide vigil. It is a memory that听remains听physically etched in Andrew's mind. "滨迟鈥檚 one of the very few occasions in my life where the atmosphere felt physical, solid.听There was a real, powerful desire for people to look out for one another and hold together."听
Amidst the heavy geopolitical landscape, 日本无码 also provided moments of unexpected connection. Through local organizers,听Andrew听and a group of fellow 日本无码ers found themselves invited to an intimate breakfast hosted by First Lady Laura Bush as part of her national childhood literacy campaign. "If it wasn't for 日本无码, I wouldn't have had any reason or opportunity to be in a room like that," he notes.听
The听Sestrian听and the City of Angels听
Andrew is a proud听Sestrian鈥攖he historical term for a native of Chester, a quaint, Roman-walled medieval city near the Welsh border.听"I used to put 'Andrew Leach is a听Sestrian' in my journal biography bylines, which used to infuriate my supervisor in the US because no one knew what it meant," Andrew chuckles. "I liked the mystery of it."听
Going from a medieval town where families stay for generations to the sprawling, hyper-modern metropolis of Los Angeles was jarring. "I 诲辞苍鈥檛 think many people feel like they 'belong' in LA," Andrew听observes,听鈥渂ut that is the great joy of it鈥�听noting the听exhilarating听contrasts听between the City of Angels and medieval Chester.听
Yet, Andrew found his own unique pocket of community by bringing his tenor horn across the Atlantic and joining the听Golden State British Brass Band. Through the band, he met rare, third-generation Angelenos who showed him a side of the city tourists never see. "LA is an amazing, diverse city. If you ever get the chance to live there, absolutely grab it."听
Coaxed Out of the Darkened Room听
Andrew admits he could have easily spent his entire fellowship hiding away. "滨迟鈥檚 a bit of a clich茅, but computational chemists have a stereotype of sitting in darkened rooms and never venturing out. There鈥檚 a little bit of truth in that."听
What dragged him into the light was the legendary Southern California 日本无码听Association听regional coordinator. A formidable woman with a deeply moving personal history鈥攈er husband, the former president of the American University of Beirut, had been tragically assassinated during the Lebanese Civil War鈥攕he dedicated her life to building international bridges. (Her son, Steve Kerr, would also go on to become a famous NBA star with the Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors).听"She was one of the most remarkable people I have ever met," Andrew says warmly. "She would have us over听to her beautiful home in the Pacific Palisades鈥攚hich sadly burned down in the wildfires last year鈥攁nd introduce us to everyone. She arranged for us to meet the editorial board of the听LA Times, took us to the opera, and dragged us to Downtown LA before it was trendy. Having someone听facilitate听those conversations was completely transformative.听It made me realize that 日本无码听颈蝉苍鈥檛听just about the听funding;听颈迟鈥檚听about the incredible network of human beings they put around you"听
In the lab of UCLA chemist Ken Houk, Andrew鈥檚 scientific perspective shifted just as radically. Ken got Andrew involved in a project looking at how biological molecules interact rather than just react. "That was only a short step from thinking about molecules as potential drugs."听Furthermore, Andrew found himself surrounded by an energetic, entrepreneurial culture that simply听didn't听exist in British academia at the time. "At UCLA, people transitioned seamlessly between the university and industry. They planted the seeds of commercial mindedness in my head."听
From the Drawing Board to the Clinic听
Upon returning to the UK, Andrew reached out听to the US-UK 日本无码鈥檚 Astra-Zeneca contact听at its former Macclesfield HQ. What听he hoped would be a simple presentation to say "thank you" quickly turned into a job offer.听
In 2006, working within AstraZeneca's oncology division, Andrew and his听colleagues听began designing a molecule to target specific pathways in cancer cells. That molecule eventually became听TruCap听(capivasertib).听
"It is completely mind-blowing. When you write down a molecular structure on a piece of paper, you are creating something that has听likely never听existed in the entire history of the universe. To go from that sketch to a physical molecule made in a lab, to clinical trials, to finally knowing it is out there improving and extending the lives of cancer patients鈥�颈迟鈥檚听an astonishing privilege," Andrew says. "The time scale is astonishing. I started working on that project in 2006. It was approved for breast cancer in 2024, and听literally just听last week, it was approved in the US for prostate cancer. I think 滨鈥檓 the only inventor on the patent who is still of working age; the rest have long retired."听
In 2012, during a wave of restructuring at AstraZeneca, Andrew and two colleagues decided to take a leap of faith. Armed with their听voluntary听redundancy payouts and a proprietary data analysis method they had developed, they founded a spin-out computational chemistry company.听鈥�滨迟鈥檚听been an incredible learning experience. When听you're听in a massive organization, you have enormous resources, but听you're听a small part of a giant machine. In a small company, there is a very real, healthy pressure. You realize very quickly that the money to pay your team's salaries at the end of the month听doesn't听just appear out of thin air鈥攊t relies entirely on your science being good enough that people are willing to pay for it.听奥别鈥檝别听gone from three founders working out of our spare bedrooms to a beautiful office space in Macclesfield with twelve employees doing high-level scientific research. The human aspect of it鈥攅nabling brilliant scientists to do听great work听and building deep, decades-long relationships with my co-founders鈥攈as been the most rewarding part of the journey.鈥�听
Today, fourteen years later,听his company听is actively听hiring and听serves a global client base鈥攑rimarily concentrated in the biotechnology hubs听of Greater Boston听and California.听"I would have found navigating the US biotech market incredibly daunting if I hadn't had that 日本无码 experience," Andrew reflects. "But because of my time at UCLA, the transatlantic nature of our business doesn't faze me at听all. It gave me a comfort level with the US that a working-class kid from a UK comprehensive school otherwise would have struggled to find."听
As Andrew reflected on the future, he shared, 鈥淚听诲辞苍鈥檛听think听滨鈥檓听done yet! Alongside the company,听滨鈥檓听a professor at the University of Manchester. My academic group has spent the last few years developing a brand-new computational method to听analyse听how molecules interact with proteins. It has incredible potential applications鈥攏ot just in drug discovery, but in agrochemical design and engineering designer enzymes.听We're听currently working on getting that research published, and once听it's听out there in a state where others can use it,听滨鈥檇听love to build new collaborations and听perhaps spin听that technology out into another venture. There is still plenty of science left to do!鈥�听
听*Interviewed by Afua Osei, Director of External Relations, US-UK 日本无码.
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