Ajay Soni
PhD, Head of Medicinal Chemistry
Dr. Soni has extensive global research experience in the area of drug discovery in major pharmaceutical organizations companies including Daiichi Sankyo Tokyo, Daiichi Sankyo India and Ranbaxy Research laboratories. At Daiichi Ajay designed and synthesized several compounds that went into early development. He also led the optimization and development of three clinical candidates. His expertise includes synthesis of complex and diverse chemical scaffolds such as carbohydrates, benzoxaboroles, macrolides, peptidomimetics etc. from milligram to kilogram scales to obtain finished product per ICH guidelines. He has a strong understanding of drug design parameters (both physicochemical as well as pharmacological and toxicological) and in in vivo PK-PD. He is well versed in toxicology analysis in the area of anti-infectives, anti-inflammation and cardiovascular diseases. He has authored several scientific publications and is the inventor on multiple patents.
Manoj Khera
PhD, Head of Custom Synthesis and Process Chemistry
Dr. Khera has over 20 years of research experience in novel drug discovery, and in synthetic organic chemistry. He has led and mentored research projects involving hit to lead optimizations for advancing molecules from early discovery to clinical development. He has served in senior positions in leading multinational pharmaceutical companies such as Daiichi Sankyo, Ranbaxy Research laboratories and Dr Reddy’s Research Laboratories. His research interests include rational design of bioactive small molecules for therapeutic intervention, hit to lead optimization and development of new synthetic methodologies for lead compounds. He has a proven track record of working in collaborative research environments, while successfully driving challenging research projects in collaboration with GSK, Daiichi Sankyo etc. He has published several scientific articles and is the inventor on multple patents.
Malini Bajpai
PhD, Head of in Vitro Biology
Dr Malini has over 20 years of research experience in both Academia and Industry with expertise in pharmacology and integrated drug discovery in the areas of inflammation, cancer and immuno-oncology. Most recently, she was associated with Glenmark Pharmaceutical for more than 15 years as a Senior Principal Scientist. She has been instrumental in delivering two clinical candidates in the area of immuno-oncology and respiratory diseases (COPD) which are currently in Phase 1 clinical trials. Dr Malini served as a Senior Scientist in Ranbaxy Research Laboratories where she led a team focussed on discovery of innovative small molecule therapies for oncology and inflammation. Dr Malini completed her post-doctorate from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk followed by Oregon Health University in Portland where she worked on signalling mechanism, protein-protein interactions and role of anchoring proteins in signalling transductions. She worked on Signal Transduction pathways controlling sperm motility and the action of inhibitors were explored for the possibilities of developing new vaginal contraceptives along with the anti-HIV activity on spermicidal compounds. Dr Malini completed her PhD in Biochemistry from Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow in the area of Biochemical Investigations on Isolated Germ Cells from Testis of Rat. She has authored multiple publications in peer reviewed journals and is a co-inventor on more than 20 patents across projects.
Mark Wesson
MPH, FACHE
Mark Wesson, MPH, FACHE, is the Vice-President, Business Development at Presude Lifesciences. Mark provides business development and growth opportunity leadership and establishes business relationship objectives for Presude Lifesciences. He has over 20 years of experience in corporate and international business development, marketing, strategic planning and alliance management in pharmaceutical and clinical research organizations. Mark’s prior experience across these domains and his skills at identifying and realizing new synergistic and mutually beneficial business partnerships is superior and of great value to Presude Lifesciences. Mark is based out of the San Francisco Bay Area and has global responsibility for Presude’s commercial activities, including leading the business development as well as developing new capabilities in marketing and corporate development. As a member of the leadership team, he plays an important role in driving strategy for commercial activities.
Mark welcomes any inquiries from those who wish to learn more about Presude Lifesciences. You may email Mark atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call him at +1 510 316-9290 (United States).