Optibrium, a leading developer of software and AI solutions for molecular design, today announced the appointment of Dr Nathan Brown as Director of Science, strengthening the company’s position in delivering scientifically rigorous software that addresses real-world efficiency and productivity challenges in molecular discovery.
Nathan will lead the Research and Application Science teams in this new role to drive the development of quantum mechanical, molecular modelling and machine learning methods, maintaining high scientific standards whilst ensuring customer feedback directly shapes research and development priorities. As a member of the senior management team, he will help guide the company’s R&D strategy and strengthen Optibrium’s positioning in the global discovery community.
Nathan brings decades of experience in computational and AI-driven discovery. He joins Optibrium from Healx, where, as Director of Digital Chemistry, he led the development of AI-powered computational methods for rare disease drug discovery. He oversaw advancements in AI-driven molecular design and structure-based modelling, delivering live drug discovery projects with a track record of translating cutting-edge computational research into robust, user-facing discovery platforms. Prior to Healx, Nathan led the Cheminformatics team at BenevolentAI and founded the In Silico Medicinal Chemistry team at The Institute of Cancer Research, where he delivered significant scientific impact on drugs in active clinical trials.
Globally recognised as a thought leader in cheminformatics and computational chemistry, Nathan is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and a Member of the Editorial Advisory Boards at the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling and ChemMedChem. He invented the first multi-objective de novo molecular design system, published in 2004, and has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers and four books in the field. Nathan won the 2017 Corwin Hansch Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field.
Dr Matthew Segall, CEO at Optibrium, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Nathan to our team. His appointment reflects our commitment to ensuring that scientific excellence drives everything we do. Nathan’s experience building AI and machine learning capabilities for drug discovery, combined with his track record of translating computational research into real-world impact on drug discovery in collaboration with pharmaceutical partners, makes him the ideal person to lead our science teams as we continue to develop new methods that address the productivity challenges facing our customers.”
Dr Nathan Brown, Director of Science at Optibrium, added: “I’m thrilled to be joining Optibrium. The company’s commitment to combining rigorous science with practical applications strongly resonates with my own approach. I’m looking forward to leading such a talented team of scientists, ensuring that our research continues to address the real challenges faced by discovery teams, whilst maintaining the high scientific standards that underpin all of Optibrium’s work.”