Meet the team

Optibrium™ was founded in 2009 when Matt and Ed set out to put powerful, intuitive software in the hands of drug discovery chemists. Since then, that same focus on tackling the challenges of small molecule discovery has driven the company’s growth, from shaping StarDrop™ into a comprehensive discovery platform and launching Cerella™, to welcoming BioPharmics™ into the fold and opening our US subsidiary, always guided by transparent science and close collaboration with our customers.

Executive team

Matthew Segall, PhD

CEO and Company Director

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Matt has a Master of Science in Computation from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Cambridge.

As Associate Director at Camitro (UK), ArQule Inc. and then Inpharmatica, he led a team developing predictive ADME models and state-of-the-art intuitive decision-support and visualization tools for drug discovery.

In January 2006, he became responsible for management of Inpharmatica’s ADME business, including experimental ADME services and the StarDrop™ software platform.

Following acquisition of Inpharmatica, Matt became Senior Director responsible for BioFocus DPI’s ADMET division and in 2009 led a management buyout of the StarDrop™ business to found Optibrium™.

Edmund Champness

CSO and Company Director

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After graduating with a degree in Mathematics in 1995 Ed joined GlaxoWellcome working as part of a pioneering team building predictive pharmaceutical tools.

He developed the first graphical user-interfaces for working with predictive models which were adopted globally within GlaxoWellcome.

He was a core member of the team which established the UK operation of Camitro in 2001 and remained with that company (now operating within BioFocus DPI following merger and acquisition) until 2008.

During this time he designed and built the StarDrop™ software and, in 2009, co-founded Optibrium™.

James Halle

Chief Commercial Officer

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James manages Optibrium™’s commercial team, driving global sales, customer success and marketing activities, whilst working closely with senior leadership to develop the Company’s product commercialisation strategy.

Prior to joining Optibrium™, James held numerous senior positions at pharmaceutical and life science companies including Cytel, a clinical trials services and software business, and IQVIA, a provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services.

He also has a wealth of experience in software account management at companies including IBM and LexisNexis. With a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Cardiff, James brings technical and business expertise to his role in guiding Optibrium™’s global commercial strategy.

Michelle Bendall

Chief Financial Officer

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Michelle leads Optibrium™’s Finance, HR and Operations teams, bringing over 15 years of finance leadership experience across SaaS, venture capital and complex transaction environments. A Chartered Accountant by training, she partners closely with Boards and CEOs to deliver clear, data-driven insight that underpins strategic decision-making, sustainable growth and strong governance.

Prior to joining Optibrium™, Michelle led finance at Jiminny, a VC-backed SaaS business, supporting a period of rapid ARR growth while strengthening systems, enhancing margins and helping to secure successful fundraising. With an early foundation in audit and financial modelling, she combines technical rigour with commercial acumen to build scalable finance functions that enable innovation and long-term value creation.

Scientific team

Nathan Brown, PhD

Director of Science

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Nathan leads the Research and Application Science teams, driving the development of new methods whilst ensuring customer feedback directly shapes our research and development priorities.

Before joining Optibrium™, Nathan held the role of Director of Digital Chemistry at Healx where he led the development of AI-powered computational methods for rare disease drug discovery. Prior to that, he 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.

Ajay Jain, PhD

VP of Research, BioPharmics™ Division

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Ajay has a PhD in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University following dual BS degrees in Biochemistry and in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota.

Ajay has over 30 years of experience working in the field of computer-aided drug design. He held a series of senior scientific roles in multiple small biopharma companies, beginning with Arris Pharmaceutical in 1992 where he and his group pioneered new approaches to ligand- and structure-based drug design.

He was also faculty at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) for over two decades, with a broad research program including both CADD and bioinformatics. Ajay founded BioPharmics™ LLC in 1998, which became the BioPharmics™ Division of Optibrium™ in August 2023.

Ann Cleves, PhD

VP of Application Science, BioPharmics™ Division

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Ann has a PhD in Microbiology and Cell Biology from the University of Illinois, followed by work in Biochemistry as a Helen Hay Whitney post-doctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

She moved to small biopharma beginning with MetaXen in 1997, leading many aspects of biological research and complex assay development across multiple projects. Ann’s research focus shifted to the causal linkages between molecular structure and human pharmacology.

Her research spanned both the academic environment of UCSF and the applied realm within BioPharmics™ LLC since its founding in 1998. Ann has a deep understanding of how to solve challenging problems in pre-clinical pharmaceutical discovery using sophisticated computational approaches for ligand- and structure-based predictive modeling. BioPharmics™ LLC became the BioPharmics™ Division of Optibrium™ in August 2023.

Product and platform team

Rae Lawrence, PhD

Product Manager

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Rae holds a PhD in Theoretical Chemistry from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

After 2 years at the helm of Optibrium™’s super-star software development team, she made a lateral move within the organisation to focus more on planning and scoping the products and technologies of the future.

As Product Manager, she leverages over two decades of experience in software development, applications science, and business development, including valuable time spent as a customer. Rae serves as the crucial “universal translator,” adeptly converting customer requirements into technical specifications that enable our developers to deliver effective solutions to complex problems.

Chris Leeding, PhD

Director of Implementation

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Chris studied Chemistry at King’s College London, obtaining a BSc and a PhD in the field of organic reaction mechanisms.

After a spell at the Royal Society of Chemistry he moved into software development and in 2006 joined Inpharmatica where he worked on early versions of StarDrop™, including the innovative Auto-Modeller™ functionality.

Following the establishment of Optibrium™ he contributed to many developments for StarDrop™ and associated technologies. Since 2018 he has led Optibrium™’s custom project team, working on projects to enhance customer value by integrating Optibrium™ software with customers’ in-house infrastructure and tools.

Harry Panayiotou

Lead Platform Engineer

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As Lead Platform Engineer, Harry and his team provide the platform where all Optibrium™ products are developed and hosted, ensuring they are secure, performant and available.

He has experience working across different industries including finance, consultancy and e-commerce, with a focus on data security and customer centric solutions. Harry holds a First Class Degree in Computer and Network Technology from the University of Hertfordshire.

Gavin Nicholson, PhD

Director of Engineering Delivery

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Gavin leads the software team at Optibrium™ and is responsible for overseeing delivery of a portfolio of products. He has more than 15 years’ experience of software development in a range of industries from image processing, CAD tool development at Siemens, and scientific data visualisation. Prior to his current role, he led development of a visualisation tool for translational safety in drug development as part of the eTRANSAFE consortium.

Gavin holds a PhD from Imperial College London in Theoretical Physics and a Master in Science in Mathematics and Astronomy from the University of Glasgow.