David Barnes was born in Ireland, in 1944. He studied in England and in the United States before studying medicine at McGill University in Montreal and a Postgraduate Degree in Pathology at Kings College Hospital, in London.

David Barnes worked for a number of organisations including the MRC, WHO, UN AIDS, before becoming Deputy Minister of Health of Saudi Arabia until 1986.

In 1992, Dr Barnes joined the board of SDS INC, an American diagnostic company, which pioneered the use of saliva as a diagnostic specimen, developed and manufactured a range of rapid diagnostic tests for near patient use. In 1999, he set up the European division of Advantage Diagnostics of which he is currently Director.