Register: Building the Intelligence Engine for Drug Discovery R&D Teams

Date: Tuesday, July 28, 2026 10–11am EDT
Event Location: Virtual

Drug discovery teams have more data than ever, but turning that data into actionable insight remains a major challenge. In this candid conversation, Patsnap’s Ben Coverdale is joined by Mark Davies, Head of Product for Life Sciences, and James Longden, Senior Director, Life Sciences at Evolvus to explore how AI-powered intelligence is reshaping candidate optimization across antibodies, ADCs, and peptides. From the importance of curated data and robust SAR workflows to the role of human expertise in guiding critical decisions, the panel will discuss what it takes to build an effective intelligence engine for drug discovery and how biotech teams can access these capabilities without building them from scratch.

Ben Coverdale, PhD

Account Director - Life Sciences | Patsnap

Ben is a Global Account Director on Patsnap’s Life Sciences team, where he works with some of the most innovative organizations in the industry to help them move faster, protect their IP, and stay ahead of a rapidly evolving competitive landscape. With a PhD in biomedical materials, he brings a rare combination of scientific depth and real-world R&D workflow experience to every conversation.

Mark Davies

Head of Product - Life Sciences | Patsnap

Mark is Patsnap’s Head of Product for Life Sciences, with 20+ years of experience in AI-enabled drug discovery. He spent nine years at BenevolentAI as SVP of Informatics and Data, led the development of ChEMBL and SureChEMBL, and co-founded Kiin Bio to build an AI co-scientist for drug discovery. Across these roles, he developed deep insight into the data challenges facing R&D teams.

James Longden

Senior Director, Life Science | Evolvus

James Longden is a cell biologist with a background in early drug discovery and network/systems biology. He spent the first half of his career performing and leading target identification, hit identification and mechanism of action studies at AstraZeneca and Cenix BioScience (a pioneer in RNA interference). He then transitioned into network biology; investigating how we can combine ‘big data’ biology with AI/machine learning for the identification of novel targets and treatment strategies. He has applied these techniques in multiple therapeutic areas as an Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen, at Pheno Therapeutics, a spin-out developing therapies for neurodegenerative and demyelinating disorders, and at e-therapeutics (a biotech developing siRNA therapeutics). He is currently Senior Director of Life Science at Evolvus, leading the development of new data products for the life sciences industry.

Jennifer C. Smith-Parker

Director of Insights | BioSpace