Respected pharma data science pioneer Dr Ben Sidders to spearhead Biorelate’s next growth phase as Chief Scientific Officer

• Dr Sidders brings two decades of deep data science experience, honed across multiple therapeutic areas at Pfizer and AstraZeneca
• He will build on Biorelate’s strong track record of leveraging advanced data science methods to extract critical knowledge from vast amounts of biomedical literature
• These new data-derived insights are enabling drug developers to identify new targets with maximum market potential.

Manchester, UK – September 5, 2024 - Biorelate has announced the appointment of leading pharmaceutical industry data science expert, Dr Ben Sidders, as Chief Scientific Officer. Formerly Executive Director, Head of Early Data Science at AstraZeneca within Oncology R&D, Dr Sidders will spearhead a new growth phase for Biorelate, which leverages advanced data science methods to transform the focus and impact of drug discovery and development.

Dr Sidders has spent two decades leading data science teams at both AstraZeneca and Pfizer, to pioneer and apply novel data science methods for drug discovery in oncology, neuroscience and infectious disease. 

Biorelate specialises in advanced data science methods for drug discovery to deliver robust, evidence-based intelligence to those making critical decisions about the next drugs to take forward. The actionable insights it distils, from across diverse ‘dark’ (previously unsearchable) knowledge assets and existing texts, ensure that investment is concentrated on the targets most likely to succeed in drug development - with a positive impact for patients, while delivering financially for the drug developer and its backers.

Dr Sidders, who has followed Biorelate closely since the company’s foundation in 2014, believes the company is at an important inflection point thanks to its proven technology and a significant opportunity to grow and scale. That’s as drug developers look to next-generation data science to transform their early research, and improve new drug candidates’ probability of success.

Of the opportunity Biorelate addresses, Dr Sidders said: “The pharmaceutical industry is rapidly adopting data science-driven approaches using artificial intelligence. This has meant a shift away from the traditional pharma R&D model (very low throughput, with heavy reliance on academic literature to determine new targets), towards an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-first approach.

“The risk with this approach is that researchers do not really understand the causality of their findings, which is critical if you want to develop a successful drug. Biorelate fills that gap by drawing on a wealth of data to develop causal models and explaining - mechanistically and in the appropriate context - what the next opportunities are and why. Crucially, Biorelate’s technology platform has causality built in – something that’s lacking in other AI approaches to drug discovery. It has proven adept at finding new targets, and has promise in other areas of the pipeline too, from biomarker discovery and patient stratification to the identification of promising drug combinations. This is a really exciting time for Biorelate, and for data science in drug discovery more broadly.”

Daniel Jamieson, Biorelate’s CEO, said: “This prestigious appointment is an important endorsement of the great work we are doing, and we are delighted to welcome Ben on board. His scientific direction will give Biorelate an even deeper footing within modern drug discovery and development.

“At AstraZeneca, Ben’s team was responsible for delivering data-driven, actionable insights to all parts of the company’s oncology portfolio, including advancing the understanding of disease. His years at Pfizer, and his extensive experience of all facets of drug discovery across major pharma, add richly to his understanding of what the industry needs now to transform R&D performance – insights and expertise we can now extend to our diverse client base.”

Dr Sidders’ personal fields of interest include immuno-oncology, network biology and the role of bioinformatics within drug discovery. He has a PhD in Molecular Biology & Bioinformatics from the University of London where his thesis focused on the development of predictive markers for the diagnosis of asymptomatic Tuberculosis. Ben holds patents for two clinical diagnostics and has authored over 30 scientific publications.

About Biorelate

Biorelate is a world leader in leveraging advanced data science methods to extract critical knowledge from vast amounts of pharmaceutical data and literature, significantly enhancing the discovery of novel biopharmaceuticals. Biorelate offers multiple product lines powered by its proprietary platform, Galactic AI™.

Galactic AI™ employs sophisticated natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence (AI) to uncover hidden cause- and-effect relationships. This innovative platform provides unprecedented insights into disease pathways, enabling more precise and effective drug discovery. As the incredible progress of scientific researchers continues to compound the huge volume of growing and evolving biomedical data, Biorelate’s mission to curate knowledge to advance the world's most promising biomedical innovations has never been so important.

Media Contact

Carina Birt, Sarum Life Sciences on behalf of Biorelate
carina@sarumlifesciences.com

+44 7970 006624