Touchlight Appoints Industry Leader Will Downie as Adviser to Support Strategic Growth in Synthetic DNA Platforms
Published: 27 January 2025
London, UK – January 27, 2025 – Touchlight, a pioneering leader in synthetic DNA technology, is pleased to announce the appointment of Will Downie as a key adviser to support its mission in advancing genetic medicines. Downie’s extensive experience as an industry leader delivering strategic business growth across pharmaceutical services and product development positions him as a valuable contributor in further driving Touchlight’s synthetic DNA platforms forward.
Will Downie brings a wealth of expertise from over 30 years in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Most recently, he served as CEO of Argenta, a combined CRO/CDMO in the animal health market. Prior to this, Downie was Chief Executive Officer of Vectura Group plc, a FTSE-250 inhalation drug development and device company, which successfully led to a £1 billion strategic acquisition.
From 2009 to 2019, Downie held the role of Chief Commercial Officer at Catalent Inc., one of the largest CDMOs in the pharma services industry. Earlier in his career, he held key leadership roles with GE Healthcare, Sanofi, and Merck, gaining broad experience across global healthcare markets.
“I am delighted to be working with the Executive Team at Toughlight. The company’s pioneering technology is unique within the CDMO space and has the potential to transform the provision of genetic pharmaceutical products for patients.”
Will Downie
“Will has significant experience in the pharma services sector, and he will provide valuable insights and connectivity to our team in establishing Touchlight’s synthetic DNA platforms and their key role in the advancement of genetic medicines.”
Johnny Ohlson, Founder of Touchlight
Touchlight’s unique enzymatic synthetic DNA technology offers a powerful solution for the scalable and rapid production of genetic material, critical for next-generation therapies and vaccines. Downie will support the acceleration of Touchlight’s impact in the evolving field of genetic medicine.
About Touchlight
Touchlight is an innovation-driven leading CDMO pioneering enzymatic GMP DNA production to enable the genetic medicine revolution. As pioneers, with an FDA Drug Master File accepted in 2022 followed in 2025 with the world’s first cell-free DNA GMP license, Touchlight’s enzymatic DNA technology is on the cutting edge of AAV, mRNA, DNA vaccine, and gene editing technology with its state-of-the-art facility recognised by ISPE’s Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) for Innovation.
With multiple client products already in the clinic, Touchlight’s evidence-based, synthetic DNA manufacturing solutions offer a scalable, sustainable alternative to plasmid DNA (pDNA) for all stages of pre-clinical, clinical and commercial development. The company and technology are built on the conviction that DNA is fundamental to the future of medicine. Traditional methods, based on bacterial fermentation, are slow, costly, and unable to meet the growing demands of genetic medicine due to limited scalability and speed. Founded in 2007, Touchlight’s team is inspired by breakthroughs in genetic medicine, recognising the urgent need for innovative DNA production techniques to support the future of genetic therapies.
For more information please contact:
Karen Fallen, Chief Executive Officer
Verna McErlane, Chief Commercial Officer
E: info@touchlight.com
T: +44 20 8481 9200
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