About Michael
Dr Michaël Deligny is a medicinal chemist with more than 15 years of experience across all phases of pre‑clinical drug discovery in pharma, biotech, and CRO environments. French by origin and trained as an organic chemist, he developed an early interest in boron chemistry during his PhD at the University of Rennes 1, followed by a post‑doctoral fellowship at CEA Saclay in a radiolabeling laboratory.
He built a significant part of his career at UCB Pharma. From combinatorial to medicinal chemistry, Michaël contributed to multiple discovery programs and played a key role in the creation of the scaffold that led to Balinatunfib (SAR441566), a TNF inhibitor now in Phase 2 clinical development with Sanofi. His work included team leadership, cross‑site coordination, and metabolite‑driven design strategies that opened new chemical space.
He later joined iTeos Therapeutics, a rapidly growing immuno‑oncology semi‑virtual biotech, where he played a central role in shaping the company’s medicinal chemistry capabilities. As Lead Medicinal Chemist, he guided the discovery and optimisation of the ENT1 inhibitor EOS301984 from early hit exploration through IND‑enabling studies and into Phase 1 clinical trials. His responsibilities covered DMPK and early CMC activities, including route scouting and solid‑state assessments, in close alignment with toxicology and biology.
He has extensive experience in CRO collaboration, working for more than 15 years with Sai Life Sciences (India) and WuXi AppTec (China). He implemented an integrated model linking chemistry, DMPK, biology, compound management, and proprietary data systems to streamline the DMTA cycle and support efficient externalised discovery.
Michaël is recognised for his structured, collaborative, and delivery‑focused approach. As an independent consultant, he supports biotech teams seeking to accelerate their small‑molecule discovery programs with clear strategy, robust design, and operational excellence.
Small‑molecule drug discovery; medicinal chemistry strategy and project leadership; hit‑to‑lead and lead optimisation; IND‑oriented design; SBDD (Schrödinger, MOE, SeeSAR, Flare, AutoDock Vina); cheminformatics and data‑driven workflows (Knime, Tibco, DataWarrior, Vortex); integration of AI‑supported design approaches; DMPK strategy, CRO management; development of inhibitors targeting nucleoside transporters, enzymes, GPCRs, and protein–protein interactions.