BioAscent is pleased to announce the appointment of life sciences executive leader, James Hitchin, as Vice President of Alliance Management.

With a PhD in Synthetic Chemistry from the University of Liverpool, James brings a strong scientific background as a medicinal chemist combined with multiple years of strategic leadership experience. He joins BioAscent from Charnwood Discovery, where he was Chief Operating Officer and led the expansion and integration of the company’s bioscience, chemistry, and ADME teams. Prior to this role, he was responsible for the Chemistry Business Unit at the company and led the growth of its scientific teams. He also spent seven years as a Principal Chemist at Cancer Research UK’s Manchester Institute, managing internal oncology projects.

In his role at BioAscent, James will build relationships internally across functions as well as externally, fostering strategic partnerships with new clients. He will also work with the senior leadership team to develop a differentiated value proposition that helps to drive further market expansion.

Commenting on his appointment, James says:

“I am thrilled to be joining BioAscent. Despite challenging market conditions, BioAscent has achieved consistent growth, which is testament to its resilience and adaptability. Indeed, BioAscent’s range of services, breadth of expertise, and scientific talent and strength are highly impressive and provide strong foundations for further growth. In my new role, I’m looking forward to working with all stakeholders across the business to unlock talent, identify new opportunities, and build teams that deliver innovative solutions to accelerate drug discovery and improve patient outcomes.”

Dr Mike Piper, Chief Commercial Officer at BioAscent, comments:

"With a strong track record for building high-performing scientific teams and scaling drug discovery businesses, James is the ideal fit as we look to build on BioAscent’s strong growth performance. His communication skills and ability to form long-lasting relationships across functions, along with his scientific expertise and deep understanding of the drug discovery process, will be an invaluable addition. We look forward to working with James to ensure BioAscent is positioned as the provider of choice for drug discovery and compound management services and to accelerate our growth plans in the US and Europe.”