Professor Paul Workman has been awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the New Year Honours list 2026 for services to cancer research.
Previously Chief Executive and President of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, for seven years until 2021, Professor Workman has spent more than five decades in cancer research, focusing on the discovery and early clinical development of innovative, molecularly targeted, precision medicines for cancer patients.
At The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), Professor Workman was Director, from 1997 to 2016, of what is now the ICR’s Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery. He grew this therapeutic discovery unit into the world’s most successful academic centre for discovering new precision cancer medicines.
Since 2005, research teams in the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery have delivered 21 prospective cancer drugs, 13 of which have entered clinical trials.
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A lasting impact on drug discovery and development
In addition to his leadership role in directing most of this portfolio of drug discovery achievements, Professor Workman has been personally involved in discovering multiple precision medicine candidates. At the ICR he led the pioneering research resulting in the discovery of the HSP90 inhibitor NVP-AUY922 (luminespib with Vernalis) and the PI3K inhibitor GDC-0941 (pictilisib with Piramed Pharma).
This year, the first-in-class AKT inhibitor capivasertib (AZD5363), which was discovered by AstraZeneca subsequent to a collaboration with Astex Pharmaceuticals (and its collaboration with the ICR and Cancer Research Technology Limited), was recommended on the NHS for a genetic subtype of breast cancer. Professor Workman was instrumental in the early therapeutic discovery programme at the ICR to target the AKT protein molecule – this laid the foundations for AstraZeneca’s subsequent discovery of the drug which is now approved worldwide.
Most recently at the ICR, Professor Workman led the discovery of the first-in-class drug NXP800 – a GCN2 activator that blocks the HSF1 stress pathway that is required by cancer cells. This agent has entered clinical trials for the treatment of ARID1A mutant ovarian cancer.
Previously, while at Zeneca (now AstraZeneca) from 1993-97, Professor Workman played an instrumental role in the discovery of one of the earliest precision medicines for cancer – the EGFR inhibitor gefitinib (ZD1839). This was subsequently approved in EGFR mutant non small cell lung cancer. And while at Cambridge and Glasgow Universities, and then at the ICR, Professor Workman played a key role in the development of several drugs targeted to the hypoxic (low oxygen) cells in solid tumours – which are thought to contribute to resistance to drugs and radiotherapy.
Supporting the cancer research community
Alongside his own drug discovery achievements, Professor Workman originated the general concept of the ‘Pharmacological Audit Trail’ – a gold-standard biomarker-driven framework for evidence-based decision-making during drug discovery and early clinical development – which has been widely adopted and had a lasting impact on the translation of precision medicines from the laboratory to the clinic.
In addition, Professor Workman has been a strong advocate for the rigorous use of high-quality chemical ‘probes’ or tools in biological and biomedical research – he was a co-founder of the non-profit, Chemical Probes Portal and has served as its Director from 2018 to date. In addition, he was involved with colleagues in developing other public resources for the benefit of the research community, particularly Probe Miner and canSAR.
Professor Workman is currently also the Co-Director of the CRUK Children's Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence, hosted at ICR and Cambridge University, in which he conducts chemical biology and prototype drug discovery research directed against hard-to-treat brain cancers in children.
Championing a 'team science' approach
Professor Workman is a champion of the multidisciplinary team science approach to research – he led the ICR-Royal Marsden Team that received the 2012 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Team Science Award for its pioneering drug discovery and development, and was Chief Executive when the ICR was awarded a 2017 Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Research for its discoveries in precision medicines for cancer.
Among other awards and fellowships, Professor Workman was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (2002), Fellow of the Royal Society (2016), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2022) and Fellow of the AACR Academy (2025).
In addition to his work in the public sector, Professor Workman has made important contributions to the biotechnology industry. He was a co-founder of Chroma Therapeutics and Piramed Pharma (acquired by Roche) and has been an adviser and board member to many other biopharmaceutical companies in the UK and internationally.
Making a difference for cancer patients
Professor Paul Workman, Group Leader in the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery and Harrap Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said:
“I feel very proud to receive this national recognition and I would like to acknowledge the fantastic contributions of a great number of people, both in my personal and collaborative scientific teams and in the ICR more generally. I would also like to thank my family for their unending support throughout my career.
“It takes many different people and organisations – including trainees, technical staff, colleagues, academic and commercial collaborators, funders, donors and partner institutions, as well as patients and their families – to discover and develop new cancer medicines, and I’m humbled to be honoured in this way for my contributions.”
Professor Kristian Helin, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said:
"It’s wonderful that Paul’s contributions to cancer research and the discovery of new drugs are being honoured with an OBE. We’re all very proud of his achievements and of the teamwork that demonstrates the difference that we’re making for cancer patients."
Read about some of the ICR's achievements under Professor Paul Workman's leadership