Peptides at the Forefront of Therapeutic Innovation

Dr. Satyajit Tillu is Senior General Manager and Site Head at a leading peptide manufacturing facility, with over two decades of experience in peptide and API production. A Ph.D. in Peptide Chemistry, he has successfully led multiple global regulatory audits (USFDA, WHO-GMP, AIFA, EDQM, and Health Canada). Dr. Tillu specializes in developing sustainable, compliant, and efficient manufacturing systems. His current focus is on Greener Peptide Manufacturing, driving solvent reduction, waste minimization, and environmentally responsible production practices to support a more sustainable and competitive peptide industry.

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Mr. Nilesh Patil brings over 25 years of extensive experience in peptide development and manufacturing, with a strong background in leading complex peptide chemistry and generic API projects. Throughout his career, he has filed numerous patents for generic peptides and contributed significantly to the advancement of peptide technology in the pharmaceutical industry.

Since March 2025, Mr. Patil has been associated with Shilpa Medicare Ltd., where he spearheads the development of complex generic APIs and peptide chemistry projects in the CDMO space. His role includes both strategic planning and hands-on execution of development programs, ensuring high-quality deliverables in alignment with client expectations.

Mr. Patil has previously worked with several renowned pharmaceutical companies, including: Polypeptide Group India, Macleods Pharmaceuticals, Aurobindo Pharma (Auro Peptide Division), USV Private Limited, Apicore Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

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Mr. Manoj Kumar Pananchukunnath is the Chief Scientific officer at Biocon Limited and is responsible for R&D, Regulatory Sciences, IPR, Clinical, Program and Portfolio Management functions since 2020.

Manoj brings over two and a half decades of extensive experience in end-to-end product development and regulatory sciences across US, EU, CA, JP, AU, BR, ROW and Emerging markets for both Active Ingredients (API) and Dosage forms. He carries a wide range of experience across various types of active ingredients and multiple dosage forms especially in Drug-Device combination products, Injectable, Peptide, Fermentation and Oligonucleotide. He drives product development across several geographies from aiding conception of ideas to development and finally managing the life cycle from submission to approval and commercialisation.

Manoj has played an important role in setting and expanding facilities for development and manufacturing and has manged multinational teams across US, EU and other countries. He has over 25 patents and patent applications generated over the many different areas over the years. He has managed cost centers of order of ~90 million USD annually.

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Prof Ashutosh Kumar is working as a Professor in the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering at IIT Bombay, Mumbai. He is currently heading the Wadhwani Research Centre for Bioengineering at IIT Bombay, a centre that promotes innovation, translation, and commercialization in the broad domain of bioengineering. Prof. Kumar has more than 20 years of experience working in the field of NMR spectroscopy, where he developed novel NMR methods in Liquid as well as solid-state. His research evolved around studying the structure and mechanism of action of protein complexes using NMR spectroscopy, along with other Biophysical tools. He has published over 75 peer-reviewed papers; three approved patents are in his account. Lately, he started working in the field of biopharmaceuticals, where he developed novel NMR methods to investigate the HOS of biosimilars and biologics in their formulation states. With the techniques developed by his ground and data generated in his laboratory, five biopharmaceutical molecules have received the regulatory agencies' nod to date.

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Dr. Tathagata Dutta holds a B.Pharm., M.Pharm, and PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Dr. Hari Singh Gour University, Sagar. He further pursued postdoctoral studies at the School of Pharmacy & Diamantina Institute for Cancer, Immunology, and Metabolic Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, focusing on the development of RNAi therapeutics for cancer management. Additionally, he is an alumnus of IIM Calcutta.

Over the span of more than two decades, Dr. Dutta has held various esteemed positions, including President, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), Executive Director, Managing Director & CEO, within several reputable multinational pharmaceutical companies worldwide. He is a pioneer in Dendrimer based drug and gene delivery, and Gene Therapy in India. His contributions to the field have been recognized with numerous National and International Awards and Honors. He has been featured in Cover Pages of few National and International Magazines and News Channels.

Dr. Dutta's research endeavors have led to the publication of several papers in renowned international journals, numerous patents, and authored book chapters. He serves as an editorial board member for several international journals focusing on drug discovery & delivery research.

His research interests span a wide array of topics, including novel drug delivery systems, dendrimers, liposomes, polymer bioconjugates, tissue-targeted drug delivery systems, nano drug delivery systems, gene therapy, vaccines, genetic immunization, depot injections, gene delivery, RNAi therapeutics, and Rare Diseases.

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A seasoned biotechnologist with over 20 years of experience in biopharmaceutical development, specializing in process development and process validation, cell line development, and regulatory CMC strategies. Currently serving as Director, Process Science at Aspergen Inc. (A JV between Cipla Ltd. and Kemwell biopharma), played pivotal role in the development, scale-up, validation and regulatory approval of multiple biosimilars. I hold a Ph.D. in Cell Engineering and Process Optimization and has supported successful global regulatory inspections, including FDA and EMA audits.

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Darshan Aigal serves as Head of Regulatory Affairs (Complex Generics & Biologics) at Cipla Ltd., bringing over 23 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry with a strong focus on regulatory affairs. He holds a postgraduate degree in Organic Chemistry and a PGDM in Business Management. He is also certified as a Six Sigma Green Belt.

Darshan leads global registration for complex drug products at Cipla, including peptides, oligonucleotides, biologics, and solid oral formulations. Prior to this, he gained valuable experience global API regulatory operations.

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Dr. Ranjan Chakrabarti has over 36 years of experience in Biopharma and Drug Discovery industries.

Dr. Ranjan Chakrabarti is now working as an advisor at Fortis Vita Nutraceuticals in drug discovery. He is a member of the Centre of Excellence monitoring Committee at NIPER-Mohali, advisory board member of Pharma Now magazine and also a member of the Executive Committee of Federation of Asian Biotech Association (FABA). He is advising several Conference organizers in the areas of Biosimilars, vaccines, peptides and oligonucleotides.

Ranjan was the Vice President – Global Biologics at United States Pharmacopeia for 11 years. He built the Biologics labs in India, China and Ghana, which were involved in characterization of Biotherapeutics and developing standards. Afterwards, he was overseeing USP’s scientific outreach activities in South, SE Asia and China working closely with regulators, biopharma cos and trade associations of those countries. Before joining USP, Ranjan was Head of Preclinical Biology at Dr. Reddy’s lab for 12 years. He played a key role in discovering and developing NCEs which have undergone global clinical trials (Phase 1-3) in collaboration with Novo Nordisk and Novartis. Ranjan was also heading the Biology SBU at GVK Biosciences, where he has worked with several National and International companies for discovery and development of both biological and chemical molecules. Before returning to India, Ranjan worked 7 years in Academics in the USA and successfully coordinated research projects in Cancer Cell Biology and Diabetes and guided several Ph. D. students.

Dr. Ranjan is the Co-Inventor of 32 US Patents; published 64 papers in peer reviewed International and National Journals and presented 96 lectures in International and National Conference

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Mr Sonawane brings over 15 years of clinical research experience across Phase I–III studies, with a strong focus on peptide clinical development. His expertise spans early-phase trial design (SAD/MAD, DDI, dose proportionality), peptide immunogenicity assessment, and regulatory-driven studies for submissions to USFDA and EMA.

He has actively represented clinical strategy in EMA scientific advice meetings and FDA Type B/C discussions, particularly on synthetic peptide programs, hybrid applications, and 505(b)(2) pathways. His background includes leading end-to-end clinical development, due diligence for licensing opportunities, and managing global clinical programs in oncology, autoimmune, and specialty indications.

Before joining Ferring, Mr Sonawane held senior roles at Axar/TaP Pharma, Alvogen, and Dr. Reddy’s, where he directed clinical strategy and execution. Outside work, he enjoys sculpting clay Ganesha idols, trekking, and exploring historical temples.

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Akhil leads the clinical development and regulatory departments at Aurigene. After completing his MBBS from AIIMS, New Delhi, in 1995, he completed his residency training in Internal Medicine and Clinical Fellowship in Hematology and Oncology from the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. He has been in the industry for more than 20 years, with both big pharma as well as small biotech companies. He has been part of two successful New Drug Applications to the US FDA and has also led about 20 IND applications to US FDA and about 10 IND applications to DCGI, India. He established the clinical development department at Aurigene and works with cross-functional teams like pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and toxicology. In addition, while at Aurigene, he has also established the CGT (Cell and Gene Therapy) vertical, including a GMP facility for clinical trials. Currently, he is also part of the Experts Committee of CDSCO for development of CGT regulatory guidelines in the country. Akhil has been with Aurigene since 2017

Ashish Dwivedi is a Principal Scientist at Alembic Pharmaceuticals Limited with over 11 years of experience in pharmaceutical analytical sciences. He currently leads multiple teams specializing in the characterization of peptides, protein drug conjugates, and complex drug delivery systems.

Dwivedi holds expertise in advanced analytical techniques including NMR, mass spectrometry, and various chromatographic methods for peptide analysis. His career spans leading pharmaceutical companies including Sun Pharma Advanced Research, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, and RPG Life Sciences. He has extensive experience in regulatory submissions for complex molecules globally and has successfully managed first-to-file and innovative drug products from inception to marketing approval.

Dwivedi earned his Master of Pharmacy in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Pune.

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