Sir Roger’s pharmaceutical career started in International Development at Wellcome (now GSK). Fifteen years later he realised that there was a need for a Contract Development function for the industry, and he set up Penn Pharmaceuticals Ltd, which enabled him to contribute to clinical development of sixteen molecules to international licensing. 

His success was recognised with the award of the OBE in 1996 (services to the Pharmaceutical industry). He was subsequently awarded a knighthood in 2005 for services to business and training in Wales. He served as chairman of the Welsh Development Agency.

He received an honorary DSc from the University of Wales, Cardiff, in 2000 and was made a fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in 2009. He has established several successful life-science companies in Wales, including Zoobiotic Ltd, Phytovation Ltd, Agroceutical Products Ltd, in addition to Penn Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

His unpublished work on Thalidomide resulted in the elucidation of the presence of polymorphic forms, which helped solve some of the paradoxes surrounding clinical use. He was also a pioneer in the development of specifications for activated charcoal, enabling clinical use in the treatment of poisoning.