Ian Taylor’s journey with Arvinas began in 2016 when he joined the company as the Vice President of Pharmacology and Translational Medicine. The biology department was split into early and late stages, with Ian taking charge of the late-stage department. 

When asked what initially drew him to Arvinas, Ian cites the potential of PROTAC® technology to tackle the undruggable targets he had previously encountered during his tenure in pharma. He was intrigued by the prospect of being a part of a growing biotech and proving these goals could be achieved showing that this new technology could be turned into drugs. In addition, the challenge of developing PROTAC® degraders as oral drugs was especially attractive since so many people were skeptical it could be done. 

Ian recalls how the early days at Arvinas were filled with the usual biotech staples such as happy hours and weekly town halls with pizza, but says his favorite memory was the day the company went public. On IPO Day, busloads of Arvinas employees and their significant others headed to NASDAQ to watch John Houston and Craig Crews ring the opening bell. He says it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to celebrate the culmination of everybody’s hard work and dedication together. 

Today, Ian serves as the Chief Scientific Officer of Arvinas – responsible for Research and Early Development – a role that combines all of the experience he gained prior to coming to the company. Yet when he looks to the future, what excites him most is still the potential of PROTAC® protein degraders to change lives in a meaningful way. 

“When we look at our clinical data, we’re not just looking at data points on a graph; those are real people we are helping,” Ian says. “Our goal is to enable patients to be able to live longer and reach milestones like graduations, weddings, and birthdays that they might not have reached otherwise. That’s why we’re in drug discovery and the biopharma industry. Being at the forefront of this new class of medicine is an incredible opportunity, and it’s amazing to see how our work is making a difference.”