Oliver Backhouse
Oliver is a biopharma and life sciences executive whose career has spanned industry, consulting, and government with a longstanding interest in science, medicine and how new knowledge and technology can translate into better outcomes for patients.
Over nearly two decades at AstraZeneca, he held senior roles in commercial leadership, corporate strategy, and R&D. As Country President for Malaysia and Singapore he ran a $150 million revenue business with more than 300 staff, and as UK General Manager and global commercial lead for the Antibiotics franchise he managed a $260 million business across 100 countries. He also served on AstraZeneca’s corporate strategy team, working with the CEO and Board on the direction of the group’s $34 billion global business.
Oliver moved from commercial leadership into R&D, focusing on introducing new technologies and capabilities in drug development. As Vice President for Precision Medicine and Genomics, he led precision medicine strategy, developing diagnostics to support AstraZeneca’s targeted therapies and embedding biomarker-driven approaches across the pipeline, and helped expand AZ’s population genomics capability. He then led global digital health strategy, applying AI and digital technologies to clinical development before helping to establish Evinova, AZ’s standalone AI-enabled clinical trials and digital R&D company.
Prior to AstraZeneca, Oliver worked in biopharma at GlaxoSmithKline and at Chiron Corporation, in strategic consulting at McKinsey & Company, and in government in the UK Prime Minister’s Office where he advised ministers and officials on healthcare and public service reform. He has lived and worked in the US, Southeast Asia, Africa, and throughout Europe.
He read Mathematics at Oxford, holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MSc in Cancer Sciences from Queen Mary University of London/Barts Cancer Institute, and an MA in Philosophy from the Open University. He represented Great Britain at tennis as a junior and remains an active competitive player.
