Dr. Rajeev Soni
Business consultant
Rajeev Soni did his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the University of Cambridge, U.K. and has more than 25 years of experience including industry and academia both nationally and internationally. He has been accredited with the discovery of G1 cyclins in plants during his Ph.D., a discovery that changed the whole course of plant growth and development field. Rajeev’s research has several patents to his credit including the patents on the development of a synthetic nuclease for bioterrorism applications while being at the Naval Research Lab in the USA.
Rajeev has extensive experience in building relationships with senior executives in biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry with specific focus on CDMO Business Development and Partnership Management. Rajeev’s broad range of experiences gives him a unique perspective on developing novel products, identifying business opportunities, contract negotiations and closing deals with customers. He was instrumental in raising USD 6 million to start a CDMO which to date has successfully executed projects worth millions of dollars. Led Illumina business development and achieved sales from zero to USD 7 million in 6 years. A versatile and experienced leader with excellent managerial, communication and problem-solving skills and thrives well in a rapidly changing, multi-tasking, fast-paced and competitive environment.
Rajeev’s specialization includes drug discovery research in the field of cancer and infectious diseases, development of molecular diagnostics kits, industrial biotechnology with a focus on enzyme engineering for various industrial applications, development of protein expression systems in various organisms, fund raising, strategic planning and business development.
Jaideep Thottassery
Scientific Advisor
Dr. Thottassery was a senior scientist in the Drug Discovery Division at Southern Research Institute (SRI), Birmingham, AL for over 16 years. Dr. Thottassery, along with Dr. W. B. Parker, was responsible for the discovery and development of DNMT1 depleting nucleosides 4’-thio-deoxycytidine and aza-4’-thiodeoxycytidine which are in clinical trials. He was also PI on several grants funded through agencies such as the Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) SPORE program, and also projects in the National Cancer Institute Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) Program. Jaideep has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and has performed postdoctoral research at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, and at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. Jaideep is an expert on nucleosides, nucleotides, steroids and orphan receptors, ubiquitylation and proteasomal degradation and cell cycle directed therapies. Jaideep has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and reviews in basic, clinical and translational cancer research.