Brian Metcalf

Brian Metcalf is well known in the industry for his expertise in drug discovery and medicinal chemistry. Metcalf recently retired from Incyte Corporation, where he served as head, drug discovery. During his tenure at Incyte, the company was transformed from a genomics information company to one focused on drug discovery, culminating in the discovery of Jakafi, a JAK1/2 kinase inhibitor. Jakafi was approved for the treatment of myelofibrosis by the FDA in 2011. Prior to Incyte, Metcalf was the chief scientific officer of Kosan Biosciences. Prior to that, he served in a number of executive management positions with SmithKline Beecham over the course of 17 years, most recently as worldwide head of discovery chemistry and platform technologies. Metcalf began his career at Merrell Dow, where he worked for 10 years at the company's Strasbourg, France and Cincinnati, Ohio locations. He is the inventor of the anti-epileptic drug Vigabatrin and has numerous patents and publications in the drug discovery arena. Metcalf received his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Western Australia, followed by postdoctoral studies at University College London and Stanford University.