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PRISME Forum

In 2011, two pioneering organizations—PRISM and PRIME—joined forces to form the PRISME Forum. This union was born out of a shared vision to foster collaboration, innovation, and excellence within the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. By combining their strengths and expertise, PRISM and PRIME created a platform that has since become a cornerstone for knowledge exchange and strategic partnerships. The PRISME Forum stands as a testament to the power of unity, bringing together the best of both worlds to drive forward our collective mission.

PRISME Forum is devoted to improvement of general business conditions in the biotech and pharma industry and will not provide any services that would normally be carried out for profit. PRISME Forum observes all relevant anti-trust requirements and will not facilitate or allow discussions regarding commercially sensitive or confidential information. PRISME Forum will not engage in any political or legislative activities.

Our Mission

 

The mission of the PRISME Forum will be to provide a forum for the exchange of non-commercially sensitive information among its members in order to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness and impact of global Research and Development Information Management and Information Technology (“R&D IT”) organizations within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical (“biotech and pharma”) industries.

PRISME Forum will be devoted to improvement of general business conditions in the biotech and pharma industries and will not provide any services that would normally be carried out for profit. PRISME Forum will observe all relevant anti-trust requirements and will not facilitate or allow discussions regarding commercially sensitive or confidential information. PRISME will not engage in any political or legislative activities.

Goals and Value

PRISME Forum Goals

1. Establish and maintain a network among the Members that fosters open communication of non-commercially sensitive information.

2. Educate Members regarding best practices in R&D IT in the biotech, pharma and other industries.

3. Promote the development and use of open standards for applications utilized in biotech and pharma R&D.

4. Create opportunities for open and informal dialogue between the Membership and suppliers of IT products used in biotech, pharma R&D and related life sciences organizations.

5. Alert Members to new and emerging information technologies and products of special relevance to biotech and pharma R&D.

6. Operate at all times within the statement of compliance.

    Our Value…

    … TO OUR MEMBERS

    • External perspectives from trusted peers, “safe space” for advice
    • Early insights in emerging trends, validation of industry-wide challenges
    • Long-term professional networking
    • Development opportunities for team members/ delegates

    … TO THE INDUSTRY

    • Well-connected leaders drive innovation
    • Technical Meetings create high-quality interactions between innovators
    • PRISME members are key influencers in other pre-competitive collaboration groups

    PRISME Forum Board Chair

    Amrik Mahal, PhD, BEM

    Dr. Amrik Mahal leads global IT strategy for Research at AstraZeneca, where he partners with senior R&D leaders to deliver transformative digital capabilities, services, and solutions across the enterprise. In 2023, he was awarded the “British Empire Medal” in the King Honours List for contributions to the country’s COVID-19 response and to science.

    With a career spanning pharmaceutical research and academic life sciences, Dr. Mahal brings deep expertise at the intersection of technology and drug discovery. He has held key roles at Glaxo Wellcome, Oxford Asymmetry, and Evotec, and is known for building high-performing, inclusive teams that drive scientific progress. A strategic and globally minded leader, he excels at aligning stakeholders, scaling innovation, and delivering results that meet the urgent needs of patients worldwide.

    Dr. Mahal was elected PRISME Forum Chair on October 9, 2025.

    PRISME Forum Board VICE-Chair

    Mike Sullivan, MBA

    Michael Sullivan is a seasoned leader with more than 25 years of experience with global, multi-national companies, bringing a deep understanding of how technology adds value across the drug development life cycle and a strong track record of building cross-functional teams to deliver strategic capabilities across complex ecosystems.

    He is currently the Executive Director, IT for Clinical Development at Bristol Myers Squibb where he is responsible for overseeing IT operations within the Clinical Development division, driving the strategic partnership between IT and Global Development Operations.

    Mike earned his MBA from Northeastern University with a dual concentration in High Technology and Innovations Entrepreneurship and a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems Analysis & Development from Drexel University.

    Mike was elected PRISME Forum Vice-Chair on October 9, 2025.

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

    Martin Erkens, PhD

    Martin Erkens, PhD, leads the Pharma Research and Early Development Informatics organization (pREDi) of Roche. Data science supporting drug projects as well as Research and Early Development workflow solutions are among the key contributions of Dr. Erken’s organization. He was responsible for supporting multiple mergers and acquisitions, implementing a wide range of diverse solution including a digital media environment for early development, a research imaging data warehouse, an efficient data review tool for early clinical studies and a LIMS for the omics labs.

    Prior to becoming head of pREDi, Dr. Erkens ran various IT teams in the clinical space and was responsible to implement global systems for drug project and portfolio planning, global sales reporting, electronic data capture of clinical trials (the first large cloud system at Roche), clinical imaging and a system environment for the internal clinical Phase I unit. During this time, he also led a program establishing a complete new blueprint of the system landscape supporting clinical development resulting in an investment program over 5 years and 100+ mUSD investment.

    Dr. Erkens received his PhD in Mathematics (stability theory) from Albert Ludwigs Universität, Freiburg. He also holds two degrees in Mathematics and Physics (“Diplom” and “Staatsexamen”) from the same university.

    BOARD OF DIRECTORS

    Dan Chapman, PhD

    Dan Chapman, PhD, is part of the leadership team within Informatics at UCB with responsibility for Software Development and Architecture and Therapeutic Informatics (UK).

    Dr. Chapman has 15 years’ experience working within the Pharmaceutical industry in a variety of roles.

    After completing a PhD in Chemistry at Warwick University, he transitioned to informatics during post-doctoral research at Cambridge University as part of the CLIC consortium.  Dr. Chapman joined AstraZeneca in 1997 and worked on a variety of global projects before joining UCB in his present role in 2005.

    Since then, he has driven several projects to revolutionize the informatics platform within UCB and is currently actively involved in promoting Data Science across UCB.

    Dr. Chapman had served as the PRISME Forum Chair between 2018-2023.

    Lars Greiffenberg, PhD

    Lars Greiffenberg, PhD, MS, serves as Senior Director, R&D Information Research; Research Fellow; and Enterprise Knowledge Accelerator at AbbVie. He leads enterprise‑level initiatives to transform how scientific literature is accessed, consumed, and leveraged, and oversees a team applying modern computational methods and algorithms to extract and visualize mechanistic disease information from the scientific literature. His responsibilities also include global Library Sciences, which he assumed in 2017, and the Academic Partnerships Organization, added in 2018, which leverages an AbbVie–Campus collaboration at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign.

    He joined AbbVie in 2014 in Ludwigshafen, Germany, as Director of R&D IT and Translational Informatics, heading business IT support across data and digital solutions from early discovery through Medical Affairs. Before AbbVie, he held multiple R&D IT leadership roles at Aventis Pharma and Sanofi‑Aventis in Frankfurt, later relocating to Toulouse as Global Head of Solution Center Translational Medicine, where he led a global program enabling translational science at Sanofi. Lars is also active in several pre‑competitive organizations, including IMI, PRISME Forum, Pistoia Alliance, and EIT‑Health.

    He holds an MS in Biology and a PhD in Microbiology and has more than 15 years of experience in integrated R&D IT solutions and translational informatics.

    Amrik Mahal, PhD, BEM

    Amrik Mahal, PhD, BEM is the Global Head of Information Technology for Research at AstraZeneca. In this role he is accountable for developing and driving the IT strategy, partnering with R&D senior leaders and delivery all IT projects, services and capabilities. He is currently on secondment in Gothenburg where he is the also Head of IT – Sweden, a member of the Site Leadership Team and works with the AZ Bioventure Incubator Hub.

    Dr. Mahal is a versatile leader working on the intersection of life sciences and technology to serve the unmet needs of patients. Extensive experience in building and leading diverse and engaged teams to support pharmaceutical R&D. Multiple years of experience working in pharmaceutical research (Glaxo Wellcome, Oxford Asymmetry, Evotec) and academic career in the life sciences. Experienced global leader with proven ability to identify strategic initiatives, align stakeholders, scaling innovation and deliver solutions on time and on budget.

    Leah O'Brien
    Leah O’Brien is a digital transformation leader and technology strategist with over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Leah currently leads a product-centric digital organization at Sanofi which is driving a digital revolution of the next-generation of labs and plants for scientists. Her organization delivers digital products and services that enable robust and effective lab and plant operations, while capturing trusted AI-ready data. Prior to joining Sanofi, Leah led the Laboratory Digital and Technology organization at GSK.

    Leah is an enterprise leader with purpose, presence and agility, with extensive experience in broadening impact, building connections and developing organizations. She is passionate about the role that technology plays in labs to accelerate the delivery of life-changing treatments to patients.

    Anthony Rowe, PhD
    Anthony Rowe, PhD, is Vice President of Onyx Research within GSK Digital & Tech, where he leads digital, data, and computational innovation to accelerate drug discovery and development across the R&D portfolio.

    A specialist in computational biology, AI/ML, digital health, biosensors, and advanced analytics, he is known for bringing scientific depth together with product‑driven technology leadership. His work focuses on building modern research platforms, enabling multimodal data integration, and translating cutting‑edge computational methods into real impact for GSK’s discovery and translational programs. Anthony’s leadership reflects more than two decades of experience at the intersection of computing, life sciences, and large‑scale digital transformation.

    Before joining GSK, Anthony spent over 14 years at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, rising to Vice President and Head of Technology for Research Systems, where he oversaw digital strategy and technology enablement for discovery, early development, and clinical supply. His earlier roles included leading global scientific information systems, data science initiatives, and AI‑driven research capabilities.

    Anthony also serves on the Board of Directors of the Pistoia Alliance and previously contributed to Nature’s Scientific Data advisory panel, underscoring his commitment to open science and data standards. He holds both an MSc in Advanced Computing and a PhD in Computing from Imperial College London, where he specialized in artificial intelligence and computational methods.

    Errol Sandler, PhD
    Errol Sandler, PhD, worked in the information technology industry for 30 years. His career focused on research and development computing problems in the life sciences.

    Dr. Sandler provided leadership and technical expertise for Research & Development computing in the pharmaceutical industry. Most recently, he led teams to provide information technology support at several Pfizer Global research and development sites in the United States and the United Kingdom.

    Dr. Sandler received his PhD in Physics and Astronomy in July of 1977 from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

    Mike Sullivan, MBA
    Mike Sullivan, MBA, is an Information Technology Executive with more than 25 years of experience with global, multi-national companies.

    Mike is a seasoned leader with a deep understanding of how technology adds value across the drug development life cycle and a strong track record of building cross-functional teams to deliver strategic capabilities across complex ecosystems. He is currently responsible for driving the strategic partnership between IT and Global Development Operations at Bristol Myers Squibb.

    Mike earned his MBA from Northeastern University with a dual concentration in High Technology and Innovations Entrepreneurship and a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems Analysis & Development from Drexel University.

    Miguel Teodoro, PhD, MS

    Miguel Teodoro, PhD, MS, is the global Head of IT Research, Translational Medicine, and Clinical Pharmacology at Boehringer Ingelheim. In this role, he defines and drives the global IT strategy for pharmaceutical research, aligning R&D priorities with digital, data, and analytics capabilities to measurably accelerate scientific decision‑making across the R&D value chain.

    Miguel has more than two decades of experience at the intersection of life sciences and information technology. Since joining Boehringer Ingelheim, he has held a series of senior leadership positions within R&D IT, spanning discovery informatics, high‑performance computing, research platforms, and architecture. His work has focused on building scalable, sustainable digital platforms and data foundations that accelerate scientific innovation while ensuring robust governance and compliance in a global research environment.

    He holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Computational Chemistry and an MS in Computer Science from Rice University, as well as a degree in Applied Chemistry/Biotechnology from Universidade Nova de Lisboa. This interdisciplinary background enables him to bridge scientific and technological perspectives and to lead multidisciplinary teams delivering advanced digital capabilities for R&D organizations.

    As a member of the PRISME Forum Board of Directors, Miguel is committed to advancing pre‑competitive collaboration, sharing best practices, shaping industry approaches to R&D IT strategy, and adopting new technologies across the global biopharmaceutical community.