Professor Geoffrey Tovey is an internationally recognised Pharmaceutical Development Director who over a period of more than 35 years successfully directed the research and development of a wide range of dosage forms for new molecular entities (NMEs) and product line extensions (PLEs) for several leading pharmaceutical companies. He has held positions within the SmithKline organisation (now GlaxoSmithKline, GSK) for 23 years, rising to Vice President, Pharmaceutical Research and Development. He has an extensive and active network in the pharmaceutical industry and academia in the areas of drug delivery, dosage forms, excipients, novel technologies, intellectual property (IP) and organisational management. In addition to GSK he has had experience in other large companies including Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD) and American Cyanamid.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 1987 and designated a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in 1992. He was elected to the Panel of Fellows of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in June 2005. A role of this panel is to consider and approve for Fellowship, distinguished pharmaceutical scientists in academia, the pharmaceutical industry and other areas of the wider pharmaceutical sphere. His tenure was continuously renewed until 2019.
An expert in the process of new product development, regulatory approval and marketing, he has advised senior management of many companies developing new technologies and products in the healthcare industry. Such products have included prescription products incorporating new chemical entities from both the small molecule and large molecule biotech areas including solid dosage forms and injectables. For many years he directed the manufacture and packaging of clinical supplies and transferred technology to production facilities worldwide for a large number of successful pharmaceutical products.
A specialist in pharmaceutics and dosage forms with many research articles and review publications, he has some eighty patents and design registrations in the field of drug substances and dosage forms.
Currently, Professor Tovey continues to advise law firms as an independent expert witness in areas relating to patent disputes concerning pharmaceutical dosage forms. As an expert witness he has appeared in court as required to give expert opinions and his experience includes cases in many countries in Europe and Asia (including Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea).
Since 2001 he has been an appointed Visiting Professor of the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, King's College, University of London, his lecture subjects to undergraduates and graduates cover fields related to new drug development, the formulation of dosage forms, packaging and the importance of IP in present day pharmacy.
He was a Founder attendee and currently organiser for the past 25 years of the Interpharm Research Conference. This is a conference of around 40 senior academic and pharmaceutical industry delegates which has been held annually for more than 45 years. Its purpose is to promote the exchange of ideas and promote understanding of pharmaceutical science and technology as carried out by researchers, managers and scientists in industry and academia.
He is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London, admitted in 1988 and a Freeman of the City of London, admitted in 1992.
He is married with three children and, outside his professional life, has interests in conservation and the natural world.
At the request of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), Professor Tovey is helping to produce and edit a number of books on Pharmaceutical Formulation and Technology published by the RSC. These are part of the RSC Drug Development and Pharmaceutical Science Series.
