Recce Pharmaceuticals (ASX:RCE) has announced the passing of its founder, Dr Graham JH Melrose, a distinguished scientist, inventor and long-time champion of innovative anti-infective technologies.
Dr Melrose, whose career spanned academia, global pharmaceutical leadership and biotech entrepreneurship, is remembered as the original architect of Recce’s polymer-based anti-infective platform and the driving force behind the company’s formation in 2007.
Drawing on deep expertise in both science and business, Dr Melrose envisioned a radically different approach to combating infectious disease. His pioneering work in polymer chemistry laid the groundwork for the RECCE portfolio, a new class of synthetic anti-infectives now advancing through global clinical development. That vision continues to steer Recce’s mission nearly two decades later.
Before founding Recce, Dr Melrose built an international scientific career. He spent eight years as Executive Director and Head of Research at Johnson & Johnson in the Asia-Pacific region. He held academic posts, including Senior Lecturer in Applied Organic Chemistry at the University of New South Wales. His research also took him abroad as a visiting scientist at the universities of Oxford and Munich. Throughout his career, his work resulted in numerous peer-reviewed publications and significant contributions to polymer and infectious disease science.
Under his leadership, Recce grew from an emerging concept to a publicly listed company with more than 40 granted patents across the world’s major pharmaceutical markets. Although he retired from the Board in 2021, Dr Melrose remained a dedicated supporter of the company and its largest shareholder. He was widely respected as a Fellow of both the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and as a mentor whose integrity and curiosity shaped generations of colleagues.
Recce’s Chief Executive Officer, James Graham, said Dr Melrose’s influence will continue to guide the company’s work. “Dr Melrose was a remarkable innovator whose scientific vision and passion for solving challenges shaped the very essence of Recce,” he said. “His legacy endures through the breakthrough technology he created, and through the many people he inspired along the way. We remain deeply grateful for his contribution and determined to continue the mission he began.”
Recce has expressed its deepest condolences to the Melrose family and gratitude for a life devoted to scientific progress and public health. His legacy lives on through Recce’s advancing pipeline of synthetic anti-infectives, including R327, R435 and R529, which have been recognised by global bodies such as the World Health Organization, the US FDA and The Pew Charitable Trusts for their potential to address antimicrobial resistance.