Chief AI Drug Discovery Officer

With over three decades of experience in artificial intelligence and knowledge management for target and drug discovery, Dr. Tudor I. Oprea is a digital drug hunter who proposed key concepts like ChemGPS, the "lead-like approach," systems chemical biology, and the knowledge-based classification of human proteins. His validated machine learning models encompass diseases, targets, and chemicals, with significant impact in disease and chemical biology. Oprea's drug discovery contributions include the co-discovery of the first GPER agonist (IND in 2019 and orphan drug designation in 2021), several GPER antagonists and GLUT transporter inhibitors. As LNS8801, the GPER agonist reached Phase 1/2 (NCT04130516) and Phase 2/3 (NCT06624644) for refractory melanoma. Two repurposed drugs he co-invented also reached clinical trials: Raltegravir (NCT01275183, for head and neck cancer) and R-Ketorolac (NCT01670799 & NCT02470299 for ovarian and Fallopian cancer). Following a six-year tenure at AstraZeneca Gothenburg, he held Professorship appointments at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and the Technical University of Denmark, and guest professorships at the Universities of Perugia, Copenhagen, and Gothenburg. Currently, he serves as the Chief AI Drug Discovery Officer at Dompé US in San Mateo CA, and Professor Emeritus at UNM School of Medicine. Dr. Oprea has co-authored over 400 publications and book chapters, holds 12 granted US patents, and served as the Principal Investigator for the NIH project "Illuminating the Druggable Genome Knowledge Management Center" from 2014 to 2022. This project resulted in the development of Pharos (pharos.nih.gov) and DrugCentral (drugcentral.org). Recipient of the Hansch Award in 2002 and the Fujita Award in 2026 (www.qsar.org). He continues to pursue his interest in machine learning and artificial intelligence for drug discovery, repurposing, and the study of disease and target biology.