About

The authors

Pharmaceutical R&D AI, Data, and Digital is written by Hassan Abba and Naveed Shaikh — its two authors, together.

  1. Portrait of Hassan Abba

    Hassan Abba

    Hassan Abba is Head of R&D and Rare Disease Unit Architecture at AstraZeneca, leading the architectural vision for the company’s AI, data, and digital solutions. Prior to joining AstraZeneca, he spent his career driving large-scale digital transformation and IT strategy across Sky, Vodafone, and Royal Mail. He holds a BEng in Software Engineering from the University of Manchester and an MBA from Henley Business School.

  2. Portrait of Naveed Shaikh

    Naveed Shaikh

    Naveed Shaikh is Senior Director of R&D Strategy and Enterprise Architecture at AstraZeneca, where he leads the R&D enterprise architecture function and helps shape the use of AI, data, and digital technologies across pharmaceutical R&D. Prior to AstraZeneca, he spent more than a decade at Eli Lilly in senior technology and leadership roles. His experience working at the intersection of R&D, technology, and transformation informs this book, which he co-authored to offer a practical perspective on how pharmaceutical R&D organisations can turn advances in AI, data, and digital technologies into meaningful change.