The move by Exscientia to appoint Hallett was made in an aim to prepare for growth following a year of partnership completions with Celgene, Rallybio and GT Apeiron.
The new COO and head of drug discovery, who has over 20 years’ experience in drug discovery behind him, will report to Exscientia CEO, Professor Andrew Hopkins.
Prior to joining Exscientia, Hallett had served as research fellow at Merck & Co., before going on to hold the post of executive vice-president at Evotec, establishing and leading the Alliance Management function.
“Exscientia’s scientists and cutting-edge platforms are transforming the drug invention and optimisation process as manifested by their deal making with biotech and pharmaceutical partners,” said Hallett. “AI is fundamentally changing the way we discover new medicines, and I joined Exscientia because they are clearly at the forefront of this shift, bringing together the best of technology and science to deliver true improvements.
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“I am eager to contribute to Exscientia’s efforts to drive innovation in the industry and make a positive difference in patients’ lives.
“I hope to use my experience at the crossroad of science and business to lead the firm into a new and promising phase of growth.”
Exscientia CEO, Professor Andrew Hopkins, commented: “David is widely respected in the industry as a delivery-focused executive and we’re incredibly proud to have him join us, as we grow our senior leadership team ahead of an exciting year.
“His experience in managing high profile strategic collaborations and navigating complex, innovation-driven projects is a perfect fit for Exscientia as we cement our leadership in AI drug discovery and drive ambitious plans to expand our operations and pipeline.”
Exscientia’s move to appoint a new COO comes following the recent start of a drug discovery partnership with Bayer.
