Gianni Chessari in

Gianni Chessari

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Chief Scientific Officer at Astex Pharmaceuticals
📍 Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

Gianni Chessari is the Chief Scientific Officer at Astex Pharmaceuticals, a company he joined in 2002. He has a distinguished track record in fragment-based and structure-based drug design, contributing significantly to the development of multiple small molecule drug candidates. He earned a PhD in Organic Chemistry from The University of Sheffield.

Gianni is passionate about translating scientific and technological innovation into new medicines for patients with cancer and other serious diseases. He is an advocate for fostering productive research collaborations with partners in both academia and the pharmaceutical industry, and supports a postdoctoral program to advance scientific talent.

He is a named inventor and author on more than 80 patents and publications, underscoring his extensive contributions to the field of drug discovery.

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Experience
25 Years
Current Role
Chief Scientific Officer
Job Level
Leadership
Location
Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
Personality Overview

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Communication Style
Decision Approach
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Priorities

Topics Gianni cares about

Fragment-Based Discovery
He is a leading expert in Fragment-Based Drug Discovery (FBDD) and has been central to developing Astex's Pyramid™ platform and its extensive fragment library.
Tackling "Undruggable" Targets
Expresses excitement and inspiration for the challenge of drugging targets previously considered "undruggable" to create novel medicines for patients.
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Career

Work history

9-2025
Chief Scientific Officer
Astex Pharmaceuticals
3-2024 - 9-2025
SVP, Head of Drug Discovery
Astex Pharmaceuticals
3-2023 - 3-2024
SVP, Head of Chemistry
Astex Pharmaceuticals
4-2020 - 3-2023
Vice President, Head of Medicinal Chemistry
Astex Pharmaceuticals
4-2019 - 3-2020
Senior Director, Head of Chemistry
Astex Pharmaceuticals
In the press

Media appearances

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Education
1997 - 2000
PhD
The University of Sheffield
Social presence
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Behavioral profile

DISC profile (public)

DISC behavioral profile

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