BenevolentAI, one of the world’s largest private AI companies, has hired Dr. Ian Churcher as its new VP of Drug Discovery & Preclinical Development of its bioscience subsidiary BenevolentBio.

Ian has extensive experience in drug discovery holding a range of senior leadership positions spanning many therapeutic areas. He joins BenevolentBio from GSK where he headed a Discovery Performance Unit focussed on progressing new approaches to drug discovery including pioneering development of Protein Degradation technology. 

Previously Ian led a range of groups at GSK in the areas of medicinal chemistry, new technology and drug discovery and held a visiting professorial appointment at the University of Oxford. Prior to joining GSK Ian worked in the neuroscience group of Merck Sharp & Dohme where he focussed on Alzheimer’s research. Ian holds an MA and DPhil in chemistry from the University of Oxford and spent two years as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Texas. 

Jackie Hunter, CEO of BenevolentBio, the bioscience subsidiary of BenevolentAI, commented: “Ian is a well-recognised and respected in the pharma industry. He has focussed much of his career on innovating the drug discovery process and increasing the efficiency of bringing new medicines to patients. This experience fits perfectly with what BenevolentBio are doing—using AI to disrupt traditional drug discovery methods and using technology to accelerate drug development, so we are very pleased to welcome Ian to BenevolentBio.”