The CDDF is governed by a rotating board of directors, elected for three-year terms, dedicated to accelerating and optimizing cancer drug development and patient access. The board comprises distinguished individuals, including a patient advocate, pre-clinical and clinical investigators, medical oncologists, a pediatrician, and regulatory scientists, representing diverse perspectives within the drug development process. These committed members bring vast experience from clinical, patient advocacy, industry and regulatory settings, ensuring the CDDF effectively functions as a neutral, non-competitive platform for all stakeholders involved in cancer drug development.
CDDF BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CDDF OFFICE
CDDF staff members oversee the day to day running of the organisation. The head office is located in Brussels, Belgium.
Prof. Mark Lawler is the Chairperson of CDDF Board of Directors
Mark Lawler is associate pro-vice-chancellor, professor of Digital Health, and chair in Translational Cancer Genomics, Queen’s University Belfast. Prof. Lawler is an internationally renowned scientist with over 200 papers including key publications in the highest impact journals. His work has been recognised by numerous national and international awards. He is Associate Director of Health Data Research Wales-Northern Ireland which is driving innovative precision medicine and public health approaches through the use of Big Data. He is Scientific Director of DATA-CAN, the UK’s National Health Data Research Hub for Cancer. He is also Chair of the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership which deploys data intelligence to help underpin improved outcomes for cancer patients globally. Prof. Lawler has a strong commitment to patient-centred research/care and to addressing cancer inequalities. He was architect of the European Cancer Patient’s Bill of Rights, which he launched in the European Parliament with colleagues on World Cancer Day 2014. The Bill of Rights received the 2018 European Health Award, a prestigious award for partnerships that yield real health impact in Europe. His work on addressing inequalities and access issues in relation to cancer care formed the centrepiece in the development by the European Cancer Organisation of the European Code of Cancer Practice, which he launched (virtually) with EU Health and Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides and colleagues in Brussels in September 2020 Prof. Lawler’s work on Covid-19 and its impact on cancer services and cancer patients has received international attention and he co-chairs the European Cancer Organisation’s (E.C.O) Special Focussed Network on Covid-19 and cancer, which launched its 7-Point plan to Build Back Better (and smarter) from Covid. He presented recent data on Covid’s impact on cancer in Europe to the Europe Beating Cancer Committee in the European Parliament and launched E.C.Os pan European Time To Act Campaign to ensure that Covid-19 does not stop us from tackling cancer. The work on Covid-19 and cancer also received the prestigious Royal College of Physicians Excellence in Patient Care Award, which recognises the impressive work that doctors do to deliver patient-centred care through education, policy, clinical practice and research. He recently received the Irish Association for Cancer Research’s Outstanding Contribution to cancer research award, for his pioneering work on cancer research and cancer care on the island of Ireland. In his spare time (if he has any!) Prof. Lawler performs an acclaimed One Man Show on the Irish Writer James Joyce, which he does to raise money for charity.
Prof. Ruth Plummer is the Managing Director
Ruth Plummer is a Professor of Experimental Cancer Medicine in the Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, and an honorary consultant medical oncologist in Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Prof. Plummer is director of the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre within the Northern Centre for Cancer Care. She leads the Newcastle Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre and the CRUK Newcastle Cancer Centre. She is deputy director of the Newcastle University Centre for Cancer. Having trained at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, Prof. Plummer obtained a medical degree and science PhD before moving back home to Newcastle and settling with her family in Northumberland. Her research interests are DNA repair and early phase clinical trials of novel agents, taking the first-in-class PARP inhibitor into the clinic in 2003, ATR inhibitor in 2012 and MCT1 inhibitor in 2014. Nationally, she chaired the Cancer Research UK New Agents Committee from 2012-2019 and is CRUK Clinical Research Committee member. She is also a member of the MRC Precision Medicine Group, National Institute for Health and Care Research Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (NIHR EME) Programme Board, and National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Strategy Advisory Group. She was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2018.She currently serves, as Managing Director of the Cancer Drug Development Forum (CDDF) in Brussels, Belgium
Prof. Stefan Symeonides is the Vice-Chairperson of CDDF Board of Directors
Prof.Stefan Symeonides is a Medical Oncologist and Senior Lecturer in Experimental Cancer Medicine at the Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre and at the linked Edinburgh Cancer Centre (NHS Lothian). After clinical training in the UK (Cambridge & Edinburgh), Australia (Melbourne) & New Zealand (Christchurch), and research in academia (Cambridge & Edinburgh), clinic (Edinburgh) and industry (AstraZeneca, various UK Biotechs), he is currently in a CSO Clinician Scientist Fellowship and leads bridging the space between pre-clinical and clinical cancer drug development in Edinburgh, linking laboratory and clinical research In the clinic, Prof. Symeonides leads the Phase I Trials Unit and also has a specialty focus on renal cancers within the Uro-oncology team. He leads a growing portfolio of early phase trials and also continues in drug development, working with CRUK’s Centre for Drug Development and in an advisory role for a number of UK Biotechs. His research focus is on novel therapeutic discovery and development. Although he works across cytotoxic, small molecule, metabolic and even psychological therapies, his main focus is immunotherapies and he is the clinical lead for the Edinburgh Cancer Immunology Research Network. He is particularly interested in combining cancer immunotherapies to improve their activity. His current FAK-PD1 trial (NCT02758587) of combination PD-1 (pembrolizumab) and FAK (defactinib) inhibition is an example of how scientific discoveries at the Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre (Serrells et al, Cell 2015) are being translated into the clinic (running in centres UK-wide across the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre network), while maintaining the link with ongoing laboratory work to refine and optimize treatment.
Prof. Axel Glasmacher is the Treasurer of the CDDF
Since 2009 he is an adjunct professor of medicine at the Univ. of Bonn where he worked in Hematology and Oncology from 1989 to 2006 with a research focus on hematological malignancies (esp. acute leukemias, multiple myeloma) and infections in neutropenic patients. He coordinated the clinical study group “Refractory Multiple Myeloma” and served as Vicechair and Chair (2002-2006) of the Section Antifungal Therapy of the Paul-Ehrlich-Society for Chemotherapy as well as Editor for the Cochrane Hematological Malignancies Group (2003-2006). He coordinated or co-authored medical practice guidelines for several scientific societies including the Germany Society of Hematology and Oncology and the British Society of Hematology. Before establishing an independent consultancy in March 2018 with a focus on drug development, medical communication and leadership development for medical and scientific talents in the pharmaceutical industry he worked from 2006-2018 as Medical Director Germany, Vice President Medical Affairs and Head of Global Clinical Research and Development Hematology-Oncology (2016-2018; Summit, NJ, USA). His activities included the development of risk management plans for thalidomide and lenalidomide as well as clinical development and regulatory submissions for drugs like lenalidomide (in several indications), azacitidine, enasidenib and luspatercept. These experiences have facilitated understanding and engagement in the drug development process from different perspectives and have contributed to the current research interest around drug development in the interface between industry, healthcare structures and society with the relevant scientific, economic and people-oriented aspects.
Prof. Jaap Verweij
Jaap Verweij, M.D., Ph.D is an Emeritus Professor of Medical Oncology, and former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Erasmus University Medical Centre. He served as chair of the Department of Medical Oncology, and chair of the Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center at the Erasmus University Medical Centre from 2008-2013, and as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Vice-Chairman of the Board of directors of Erasmus University Medical Center from April 2013 – September 2017. He also served as Founding Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Siegen, Germany, from October 2017 – November 2019. His main scientific interests are new drug development, including the performance of clinical phase I and early phase II trials, and the inclusion of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in these studies. He also has a major interest in the design aspects of early clinical studies. Besides his clinical activities, he has been the chairman of the Early Clinical Studies Group of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) from 1993-1996, chairman of the EORTC Soft Tissue and Bone Sarcoma Group from 1996-1999, chairman of the EORTC New Treatment Committee, the EORTC New Drug Advisory Committee, and Vice President of EORTC. He has also been president of the Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS), chairman of the RECIST working group, and chairman of the Scientific Council of the Dutch Cancer Foundation. He has been editor of the European Journal of Cancer and associate editor of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. He served as vice-chairman in the Board of Governors of the Dutch Cancer Foundation from 2011-2019, and as member of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) from 2016-2020. He has been non-executive Medical Director of Octimet Pharmaceuticals from 2016-2020. He currently serves, as senior advisor to the University of Siegen, Germany, and as advisor for several pharmaceutical companies. In 2011 Jaap Verweij was appointed as fellow of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2017 as Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). He has authored or co-authored over 700 scientific papers, and has given numerous lectures on a variety of topics at international meetings.
Prof. Eva Skovlund is a member of the CDDF Board of Directors
Eva Skovlund is a professor of medical statistics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim and senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), Oslo, Norway. She is MSc in pharmacy/pharmacology and PhD in biostatistics. Her focus is on research methodology, and she supervises PhD students on projects utilising epidemiological data from registries and cohorts as well as design and analysis of clinical trials. Therapeutic areas include among others cancer, cardiovascular disease, drug use during pregnancy, and geriatrics. She has published more than 200 papers. Skovlund has 10 years of regulatory experience in drug licencing at the Norwegian Medicines Agency and was the Norwegian member of CHMP (Committee for Human Medicinal Products) at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) 2002-2011. Her primary focus was the efficacy and safety of cancer products. She also chaired the Biostatistics Working Party (BSWP). During the period 1995-2015, she held positions as professor II at the University of Oslo, first at the Medical faculty, thereafter at the School of Pharmacy. She was head of the Department of Pharmacoepidemiology and acting head of the Division of Epidemiology at the NIPH (2011-2015). She has been vice chair or board member of several organisations, among them the Norwegian Computing Centre (2009-2014) and the Norwegian Cancer Registry (2016-2019). Since 2014, she is board member of the National Committee for Medical & Health Research Ethics (NEM) in Norway.
Dr. Catarina Edfjäll is a member of the CDDF Board of Directors
Dr. Catarina Edfjäll is passionate about the development of people and treatments for serious diseases. She is an expert in drug development across the entire product lifecycle, including orphan drug development, approval and launch. In more than 25 years Dr. Edfjäll has gained an in-depth knowledge of the global biotech & pharma industry. She is currently active as a member of various boards of directors, independent consultant and mentor, and, previously was a global leader in Regulatory Affairs. Dr. Edfjäll was responsible for the successful regulatory approval of 20 innovative medicinal products and new indications in more than 50 countries. The approved medicines include biotech, low-molecular and plasma derived products, notably also for several oncology and haematology indications as well as many rare diseases. In her most recent leadership role, she was the global head of regulatory affairs at the Australian company CSL Behring. Prior to that, she held leadership positions in regulatory affairs at both start-up and mid-size biotech and pharma companies (formerly known as Actelion, Celgene and Shire), she started her career in regulatory affairs at F. Hoffmann-La Roche. Since many years, Dr Edfjäll is driven by a strong interest in bringing new treatments to patients with rare and or life-threatening diseases. Over the past 20 years she has been involved in several multi-stakeholder organizations with a focus on rare diseases and orphan drugs and was an industry representative on the European Medicines Agency´s (EMA’s) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) Working Group with Interested Parties for its entire duration (2001-2008). She is also a longstanding Board Member of ICORD since 2008 (International COllaboration on Rare Diseases & Orphan Drugs) a global, non-profit multi-stakeholder organization that raises awareness for rare diseases and stimulates collaboration between all stakeholders and important debates on orphan drug policies. Dr. Edfjäll holds a master’s degree in biotechnology engineering from the Ecole Supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg, France, and, a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Basel, Switzerland.
Dr. Rosa Giuliani is a member of the CDDF Board of Directors
Dr Giuliani is a consultant in medical oncology currently working at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. She is currently a co-chair of the Healthcare Professional Working Party (HCPWP) at European Medicines Agency (EMA) and a Member of the EMA Cancer Medicines Forum. In the past, she was Director of Cancer Policy at the European Society for Medical Oncology from 2020 to 2022 and also Core member of the Scientific Advisory Group-Oncology (SAG-O) at the EMA from 2012 to 2021. She earned her medical degree from the University of Rome, La Sapienza, in 1996 and completed the specialty training in medical oncology in 2000. She dedicated several years specializing in the treatment of breast cancer at the MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX (1999), at the Breast Unit of the Jules Bordet Institute in Brussels (2001-2003), at the Cancer Cell Biology Dept of Hammersmith Hospital (2005-2006) and at the Breast Unit of Charing Cross Hospital (2008) in London.
Dr. Christian Schneider is a member of the CDDF Board of Directors
Dr. Schneider is Chief Medical Officer for Strategic Product Development Consulting and Head of Biopharma Excellence at PharmaLex/Cencora. He was previously interim Chief Scientific Officer at the UK’s MHRA, where he was also Director of the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) for five years. He has also held leading positions at the Danish Medicines Agency and at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, Germany’s Federal Agency for Vaccines and Biomedicines. At EMA, he has chaired the Committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT) as well as the Biosimilar Medicinal Products Working Party (BMWP), and served as a member of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP). He is one of the key architects of EMA’s advanced therapies and biosimilars framework. As a regulatory scientist, Christian has published 50+ articles in international, peer-reviewed journals.
Dr. Fergus Sweeney is a member of the CDDF Board of Directors
Dr. Sweeney has a Degree in Physiology (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, 1979), a Doctorat de Troisiéme Cycle in cancer biology (Université de Paris, 1982), and a PhD in Pharmacology (UCD, Ireland, 1986). He worked in industry from 1982 to 1999, covering phase I-IV clinical research, pharmacovigilance and laboratory activities, primarily in the field of quality assurance. Prior to his retirement, in May 2022, Fergus was Head of the Clinical Studies and Manufacturing Taskforce at the European Medicines Agency. He joined the Agency Inspection Sector in 1999, was Head of Sector, Compliance and Inspections from 2009, Head of Division Inspections and Human Medicines Pharmacovigilance from 2013 (and Scientific Committee Services from 2016). Whilst at EMA he served as chair or delegate in various working groups with experts from regulators, the pharmaceutical industry, academia, and civil society, including patients. Among these he has been the regulatory chair of three ICH Expert Working Groups involving the revision of ICH E8 -General Considerations on Clinical Trials and both revision 2 and revision 3 of ICH E6 Good Clinical Practice.
Dr. Agnès Saint-Raymond is a member of the CDDF Board of Directors
Dr Agnès Saint-Raymond is a paediatrician and worked in a paediatric Hospital in France qs Chef de Clinique (1982-1990). From 1990 she worked in 2 pharmaceutical companies, and from 1995 in the French Medicines Agency (current ANSM) as Head of CNS, gastroenterology, and pneumology. She joined the European Medicines Agency in 2000 where she became the Head of medicines development including Paediatrics, Orphan Drugs, Scientific Advice, and Small Medium-Sized Enterprises support. She implemented the European Orphan Drug Regulation (from 2001) and was involved in the adoption and implementation of the Paediatric Regulation (2000-2012). In 2013 she became EMA Head of Portfolio Board Division and in 2016 also Head of the International Affairs Division. She retired from EMA end of Sept 2021.
She has been an expert for the European Commission, the Canadian Council of Academies (2014), and the US National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (2021), and a member of the UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children (2012-13). She is an assessor for WHO on the maturity of National Regulatory Agencies. She has contributed to the reflection on ethics and regulatory aspects of prenatal therapies (Esperare). She is currently a Board Member for the Concept Foundation, and a member of CDDF (Cancer Drug Development Forum). She is a member of a French Clinical Trials Ethics Committees (Comité de Protection des Personnes). Since June 2025 she is also a member of the Expert Advisory Group of the Medicines Patent Pool.
Ms. Jana Pelouchova is a member of the CDDF Board of Directors
Being diagnosed leukemia in 2002 has transformed my professional career into voluntary patient advocacy. On national level, I became founder of blood cancer support organisation, have served on the Patient Board of the Czech Ministry of Health. For 20 years supporting patients on a daily basis, running a telephone helpline, moderating online forums and organising educational seminars.
In paralel, I became co-founder and Trustee of the Swiss based Leukemia Patient Advocates Foundation,the entity for four global networks of patients with blood cancers and serving on Steering Committees of the networks. Engaged with European medical societies (ESMO, EHA PAC) and collaborating with medical and research associations both on national and European level.
Thierry Coppens
Director of Operations
c/o BLSI Clos Chapelle-aux-Champs 30 1200 Brussels, Belgium
Direct phone: +32 2 880 62 70
Email: thierry@cddf.org
Giorgia Campagnano
Event Manager
c/o BLSI Clos Chapelle-aux-Champs 30 1200 Brussels, Belgium
Direct phone: +32.2.880.62.68
Email: giorgia@cddf.org
Shannon Adeux
Event Coordinator
c/o BLSI Clos Chapelle-aux-Champs 30 1200 Brussels, Belgium
Email: shannon@cddf.org
Hyunmin Park
Community & Communication Coordinator
c/o BLSI Clos Chapelle-aux-Champs 30 1200 Brussels, Belgium
Email: hyunmin@cddf.org