BenevolentAI CEO on the future of AI-led medicine

This week on The Pharma Letter Podcast, we’re joined by Kenneth Mulvany, founder and executive chair of BenevolentAI: one of the UK’s earliest and most high-profile attempts to apply machine learning to drug discovery.

Founded in 2013, BenevolentAI set out to build what it describes as a science-based AI platform capable of mining vast biomedical data to identify novel targets and accelerate the path to new medicines. 

The company gained global attention during the pandemic, when its technology identified the arthritis drug baricitinib as a potential treatment for severe COVID-19 — a finding later validated by Eli Lilly and cleared by the US regulator.

Since then, BenevolentAI has navigated the turbulence of public markets, strategic refocusing and a reshaped pipeline, while continuing collaborations with pharma partners including British pharma AstraZeneca. 

Alongside its scientific ambitions, Mr Mulvany has also become an outspoken voice on the UK’s position in AI and life sciences, recently warning that the country risks “outsourcing its intellect” if it fails to back domestic innovation.

In this episode, we discuss the evolution of BenevolentAI’s strategy, the realities behind AI-led drug discovery, what partnerships with large pharma really look like in practice, and how the financing environment has shifted for AI-biotech companies.