Dr Wade initiated the study of clinical pharmacology in Australia and has led the drive for safer and more effective drugs from within academia and latterly in industry.
He was the first Professor of Clinical Pharmacology in Australia at the University of New South Wales including a Directorship at St Vincent's Hospital.
Since 1998 Dr Wade has been Chairman and Managing Director of Johnson and Johnson Research. During this time a number of specific products have been developed from research to commercial product. He established the JJR laboratories which study catalytic nucleic acids, gene diagnosis and gene therapy.