Andrew Hopkins, founder and CEO of Exscientia, the artificial intelligence drug discovery company, has been terminated from his position following an investigation into inappropriate relationships with two employees, the Oxford, U.K.-based firm announced on Tuesday.
The company stated in a regulatory filing that the termination, effective immediately, was for cause. According to the company, the internal investigation found the relationships were inconsistant with the company’s standards and values. The report did not provide any financial impropriety on Hopkins’ part, nor did it specify details about the employees or the relationships.
Exscientia reassured that Hopkins’ behavior did not influence the company’s consolidated financial statements or its internal controls over financial reporting and his dismissal is not related to the company’s operational or financial performance. The company stressed its commitment to its internal oncology pipeline and wide partnership portfolio through AI-based drug design and laboratory technologies.
In the meantime, the company’s board of directors is on the lookout for a successor to Hopkins. Chief Science Officer Dave Hallet has been appointed as the interim CEO and interim principal executive officer, effective immediately. Hallet will also serve as an executive director on the Exscientia board.
Under the terms of Hopkins’ employment agreement signed when Exscientia went public in 2021, grounds for termination include any gross misconduct or behavior that tends to bring himself or the company into disrepute.
Upon termination for cause, Hopkins is not entitled to any compensation, nor can he make any claim against the company for damages stemming from the termination, according to the agreement.
The repercussions of the internal inquiry extend further than just Hopkins. The inquiry also found that David Nicholson, board chairman, had prior knowledge about Hopkins’ relationships and addressed the matter with outside counsel instead of discussing with the board. After discussions with other board members, Nicholson resigned from his board positions on Monday.
The search for Nicholson’s replacement is underway. In the meantime, non-executive director, Elizabeth Crain, has been appointed as Nicholson’s interim replacement.
Exscientia was founded by Hopkins in 2012, following his stint of nearly a decade at Pfizer and five years in academia. The company initially forged partnerships to apply its AI technology platform for drug discovery for pharmaceutical companies such as Apeiron and Bristol Myers Squibb.
The company’s IPO in 2021 marked its expansion to applying the AI platform to the R&D of its own drugs. The company had stopped work on an internally discovered cancer therapy last fall after facing challenges to safely and effectively drugging the intended target. At the moment, Exscientia’s most advanced wholly owned program is a molecule in preclinical development.