Andy led the first paediatric phase I study in the UK and has been involved in the pre-clinical and early clinical development of many anti-cancer agents in children. He was the chief investigator of both the clinical trial ENSG 5, which changed the standard practice for the therapy of high-risk neuroblastoma in Europe, and the BEACON Trial, the first randomised European study for refractory or relapsed neuroblastoma.
In addition, Andy is currently a leading member of a host of cancer research institutions. This includes chair of the United Kingdom Children Cancer Study Group, founding chair of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology Europe Neuroblastoma Group, and chair of ACCELERATE, European Medicines Agency, and the US Food and Drug Administration’s Paediatric Strategy Forum Oversight Committee, among many others.
Prior to 2005, Andy was professor of paediatric oncology and Dean of postgraduate studies at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, where he also was trained. He later became a professor of paediatric oncology at the Institute of Cancer Research, as well as the honorary consultant and Divisional Medical Director at the Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust.
There, he led a comprehensive paediatric drug development programme with one of the largest portfolios of early phase, first in child, biomarker rich studies in Europe on neuroblastoma. He was awarded a lifetime achievement award from Advances in Neuroblastoma Research in 2016.
