– UK, London – BenevolentAI (AMS: BAI), a leader in applying advanced AI to accelerate biopharma drug discovery, today announced the nominations of Peter Allen, Jeremy Sohn, Ian Nicholson, and Kenneth Mulvany for their elections to its Board as Non-Executive Directors, at the AGM on 2 May 2024.
Concurrently, Dr. François Nader (Chair), Dr. Olivier Brandicourt, Dr. Susan Liautaud, and Marcello Damiani will resign from the Board at the AGM.
Subject to their appointments, Peter Allen will act as Chair and Kenneth Mulvany as Deputy Chair of the Board.
Dr. François Nader commented: “The Board acknowledges that our dialogue with Mr. Mulvany, our largest shareholder, has resulted in an agreement which we believe is in the best interests of shareholders, and broader stakeholders, and the stability of our operations and creates the potential to establish a governance platform for the future progress and value creation of the business, in the best interest of patients.”
About Peter Allen
A chartered accountant by background, Peter has over 30 years experience as an Executive Director, Non-Executive Director, and Chairman in a wide range of life science companies, playing a significant role in their growth. He spent nine years as Chairman of Clinigen plc from 2012 up to its 2021 US$1.8 billion sale to Triton; three years as Chairman of Proximagen Group plc from 2009 to its 2012 headline sale of US$553 million to Upsher-Smith; six years at ProStrakan Group plc as its Chairman from 2007 up to 2013 guiding it through its £292 million acquisition by Japan’s KHK; and 12 years at Celltech Group plc from 1992 to 2004 as CFO and latterly Deputy CEO.
Peter is currently a Non-Executive Director at Istesso Ltd. and recently retired as Non-Executive Chairman at Abcam plc after its US$5.7 billion sale to Danaher. He is also a former Non-Executive Chairman of Oxford Nanopore, where he served for 11 years from 2011 to 2022 and AIM-listed Advanced Medical Solutions plc where he brought his substantial experience in M&A, international growth, fundraising, and investor relations, as well as the commercialization of intellectual property.
About Kenneth Mulvany
Kenneth is a prominent figure in the intersection of technology and bioscience and is known for his entrepreneurial spirit and innovative contributions to drug discovery. He is the founder of BenevolentAI and was the Company’s Chairman from its 2013 foundation until July 2021 when it stood at the forefront of applying AI to scientific discovery, particularly in the biopharmaceutical domain.
Under Kenneth’s leadership, BenevolentAI transitioned from a small group to a market leader by achieving early commercial success. This trajectory led to the honor of being named a 2018 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, alongside past honourees including Google, Twitter, and Palantir, acknowledging their transformative impacts on technology and society.
Before establishing BenevolentAI, he was the founder and CEO of Proximagen Group plc, (“Proximagen”) a leading biotech firm specializing in the development of medicines to treat neurodegeneration. Proximagen was sold to Upsher-Smith for a headline value of US$553 million. This experience, coupled with his observation of the exponential increase in scientific information and the challenges in utilizing this vast and complex data, inspired him to venture into AI with the creation of BenevolentAI in November 2013.
In addition to leading innovative companies, Kenneth has proactively served on several advisory boards for, amongst others, the UK Government advisory board on AI strategies and the Oxford Sciences Innovations. He is an active contributor to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence, showcasing his commitment to the responsible and innovative advancement of AI.
Kenneth has also dedicated philanthropy efforts and was the Chairman of the Trustees for the Cure Parkinson’s Trust.
About Jeremy Sohn
Jeremy Sohn is Managing Partner of P74 Ventures, a venture fund investing in platform technologies. He is a venture investor, serial entrepreneur, and pharma executive responsible for leading business model innovations that have the potential to transform the core business and operations of the pharmaceutical industry. Since 2013, he has completed 26 investments, (with three IPOs/SPACs and five unicorns) founded three companies, (with two PE exits) led partnerships with over 100 start-ups and industry-leading technology companies, and developed eight transformational technology platforms.
Before launching P74, Jeremy was VP, Global Head of Digital BD&L, Partnerships & Innovation at Novartis, where he oversaw three teams: a pharma-tech and digital health venture fund, (operating as dRx Capital); a digital BD&L partnership and transactions team; and the Novartis Biome, an internal innovation community.
Before Novartis, he was Managing Director at MPM Capital, where he led its pharma-technology fund, founding and investing in two companies: CentrosHealth, (merged with Clinical Ink and acquired by GI Partners); and TriNetX, (acquired by Carlyle Group).
From 2007-2011, Jeremy was COO and VP of Strategy & Corporate Development for North Plains Systems, where he led the company’s growth and sale to Accel-KKR. In 2000, he co-founded an open-source operating system company, Wasabi Systems.
About Ian Nicholson
Ian Nicholson has over 40 years of international experience in management and transactions within the life sciences sector. He has extensive Board experience in public and private companies and is currently Chairman of Bioventix plc, where he was appointed in 2004, and a Board Trustee of LifeArc, a leading UK medical research charity.
He has been an Operating Partner at Advent Life Sciences LLP since 2012, working with portfolio companies including Eloxx Pharmaceuticals, Amphista, and NeRRe Therapeutics.
From 2013 to 2021 Ian was CEO of F2G Ltd., an antifungal drug development company and from 2004 to 2012 he was CEO of Chroma Therapeutics Limited, a drug discovery and development company.
He previously held the position of SVP of Business Development at Celltech Group plc, then the UK’s largest biotechnology company, and has extensive experience in licensing, M&A, and market development in the UK, Europe, and the US.
Ian served on the Board of Clinigen from 2012 up to its 2021 US$1.8 billion sale to Triton and was also a Non-Exectutive Director of Consort Medical plc from 2012 up to its 2020 sale to Recipharm AB for £505 million.
About BenevolentAI
BenevolentAI serves patients by leveraging our proprietary and validated Benevolent PlatformTM which integrates AI and science to uncover new biology, predict novel targets, and develop first-in-class or best-in-class drugs for complex diseases. By applying proprietary advanced AI tools, in combination with in-house scientific expertise and wet lab facilities, BenevolentAI is well-positioned to identify and accelerate novel drug discovery.
The Company’s business model presents multiple routes for value creation including discovery collaborations with pharma companies like AstraZeneca and Merck, advancing in-house pipelines to inflection points, and commercializing a suite of knowledge exploration tools.
Headquartered in London, with wet labs in Cambridge (UK) and an office in New York, BenevolentAI is at the forefront of reshaping the future of drug discovery and delivering innovative medicines.
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