DR MARTYN PRITCHARD

Director

Dr Martyn Pritchard was head of R and D at the drug discovery company Proximagen from 2012 through up to its acquisition by BenevolentAI in early 2018. Whilst at Proximagen he was responsible for managing and directing a workforce of almost 50 scientists and support staff, a budget of ~£15M and programmes spanning from early discovery through to Phase 2. Proximagen’s therapeutic focus was on pain, inflammation and CNS based diseases with its most notable success being a successful Phase 2 trial in OA leading to an ongoing partnership with Roche. In addition to taking 5 drug discovery programmes into clinical development, Martyn has also been a key contributor to the out licensing of a variety of assets.

Prior to his years at Proximagen he was a founding member and head of chemistry at Cambridge Biotechnology Ltd from 2001 where he was a key member of the team responsible for raising £10M in investment funding. He remained at the company through its subsequent acquisitions by Biovitrum (2005), Proximagen (2009) and Upsher Smith (2012).

His first job in industry was at the Parke Davis laboratories in Cambridge which he started in 1987 following completion of a Postdoctoral Fellowship in organic chemistry at the University of Southampton. Whilst at the Parke Davis laboratories he was promoted up to Associate Director level and was part of a team that pioneered the “peptoid” approach to drug design.

Martyn is a Graduate of the University of Wales, Swansea where he studied chemistry subsequently staying on in Swansea to complete a PhD in organic chemistry in 1985.

Martyn is an author of over 50 peer-reviewed scientific papers and book chapters, has presented at several international conferences and is a named inventor on over 20 patents.