I did help to set up an undergraduate course in medicinal chemistry and made progress in modelling and analysing pharmacological activity at the tissue level, my new passion. But after four years, I was suffering from withdrawal symptoms from lack of a chemical collaboration. Thus, I eagerly accepted John Vane's invitation to join the Wellcome Foundation . I wanted to make use of ideas I had been chiselling out, over the years, about the differences between successful and failed industrial projects. The division I took over at Wellcome, however, was remarkable for its traditional, conservative, ways and feudal structures.
Entrenched attitudes can absorb reformist efforts like a punch bag.
Yet despite disappointment in my managerial role, I made great progress in my own research. Working with brilliant young investigators such as Paul Leff, I began to see analytical pharmacology as a viable discipline. I had found myself a new mission - and once more my recurring dilemma between corporate commercial needs and personal scientific ambitions was solved unexpectedly. The Wellcome Foundation offered me the chance to establish a small academic research unit, modestly funded, but with total independence. The real opportunity, however, came from King's College , London.