AI-driven drug discovery firm Exscientia said in a US regulatory filing that it terminated the employment of CEO Andrew Hopkins “following an investigation which found that Dr. Hopkins had engaged in relationships with two employees that the board determined were inappropriate and inconsistent with the company’s standards and values.”

Exscientia was originally a spinout company from the University of Dundee and now has offices in Oxford, Dundee, Miami, Vienna and Osaka.

The firm had its initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq in 2021.

The company said its chairman David Nicholson has resigned after it emerged he “had prior knowledge of the existence of the earlier of Dr. Hopkins’ relationships and had addressed the situation directly, and with the involvement of other outside counsel, rather than in consultation with the board.”

In the filing, the firm said: “Exscientia plc …  announces that its board of directors has decided to terminate the employment of Andrew Hopkins as the company’s chief executive officer and principal executive officer, and to remove Dr. Hopkins from his role as an executive director of the board, in each case for cause and effective immediately.

“The board’s decision was taken following an investigation which found that Dr. Hopkins had engaged in relationships with two employees that the board determined were inappropriate and inconsistent with the company’s standards and values.

“The nominating and corporate governance committee of the board is instituting a search for Dr. Hopkins’ successor as chief executive officer.

“Dr. Hopkins’ conduct did not impact the company’s consolidated financial statements or its internal controls over financial reporting, and his termination is unrelated to the company’s operational or financial performance.

“The company remains committed to advancing its internal oncology pipeline and broad partnership portfolio through AI-based drug design and laboratory technologies.

“In connection with Dr. Hopkins’ termination, Dave Hallett, the company’s chief science officer, has been appointed interim chief executive officer and interim principal executive officer, effective immediately and until such time as a new chief executive officer commences employment or such other date determined by the board or upon his earlier resignation.

“During such term, Dr. Hallett will also serve as an executive director on the board.

“The compensation terms for Dr. Hallett’s new roles are not yet determined and will be disclosed once available. Dr. Hallett has served as the company’s chief scientific officer since February 2023 and before that had been the company’s chief operations officer since January 2020.

“Dr. Hallett has more than two decades of experience in drug discovery and alliance management. Prior to joining the company, Dr. Hallett served as executive vice president of chemistry and executive vice president of Alliance Management at Evotec.

“Dr. Hallett trained as a medicinal chemist and served as a Research Fellow at Merck & Co., Inc. He holds a B.A. from the University of Cambridge in Natural Sciences, a Ph.D. from the University of Manchester in Synthetic Organic Chemistry and was a post-doctoral fellow in Synthetic Organic Chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin.

“A special committee of the board engaged outside counsel to undertake the investigation into Dr. Hopkins’ conduct.

“During the course of the investigation, the board learned that David Nicholson, chairman of the board, had prior knowledge of the existence of the earlier of Dr. Hopkins’ relationships and had addressed the situation directly, and with the involvement of other outside counsel, rather than in consultation with the board.

“Following discussions with the board, on February 12, 2024 Dr. Nicholson tendered his resignation from his positions with the company as a non-executive director of the board and the chairman of the board.

“The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the board is instituting a search for a director to replace Dr. Nicholson on the board.

“In connection with Dr. Nicholson’s resignation from the board, Elizabeth Crain, a non-executive director and chair of the company’s Audit Committee, was appointed on an interim basis to replace Dr. Nicholson as chair of the board.

“Ms. Crain is a co-founder of Moelis & Company and served as Moelis’ chief operating officer from 2007 to October 2023 …”