EXSCIENTIA

Andrew Hopkins was a professor of medicinal informatics at the University of Dundee when he founded Exscientia in 2012 on a core conviction: traditional drug design was failing because humans can only test one compound at a time. AI could explore millions simultaneously.

The company began with academic backing and quickly attracted big pharma partners who wanted to see if the theory held in practice. It later moved its base to Oxford, listed on the Nasdaq in 2021, and fired Hopkins in 2024.

Exscientia licensed its AI drug design platform — Centaur Chemist — to major pharma companies including Bristol-Myers Squibb, Bayer, Sanofi, and Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma. Partners paid upfront fees and milestone payments for each drug candidate the AI designed and advanced.

IPO proceeds funded Exscientia's own internal drug pipeline for diseases it would own outright.

Centaur Chemist AI platform, DSP-1181 (OCD candidate, first AI-designed drug in human trials), oncology programs with Bayer, cardiovascular and immunology programs with Sanofi

Partner with the biggest pharma names to generate revenue and validate the platform. Use those partnerships as proof points to attract more capital.

Build an internal proprietary pipeline to capture upside if the drugs actually reach patients. Go public to fund the full-cycle development ambition.

Proving that AI-designed drugs actually work in humans. Its first clinical candidate, DSP-1181 for OCD developed with Sumitomo, was discontinued.

The market got impatient with AI-pharma promises after 2021 and the stock reflected that. Cash burn was high while clinical proof remained elusive.

Then in February 2024 the board fired founder-CEO Andrew Hopkins for cause after finding he had conducted two relationships with employees that it judged inconsistent with company values, leaving CSO Dave Hallett as interim CEO nine months before the company was sold.

SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Evotec, B. Braun, Bristol-Myers Squibb (strategic partnership), BlackRock