Scientific Director Research
DMPK professional with 13+ years of experience working with biotherapeutics (monoclonal antibodies, ADCs, antibody fragments) and small molecules. Represented DMPK on multi-disciplinary teams to provide ADME input and strategy to drug discovery and development programs, proposing and implementing paradigms for addressing project needs with respect to ADME, pharmacology and safety in CNS, pain, ophthalmic and oncology areas.
Extensive experience in preparing regulatory documents (IND sections 2.6.4 & 2.6.5, IB, BD and support NDA and BLA filings) for biologics and small molecules. Additional experience with preclinical PK/PD analysis, defining therapeutic window, and prediction of human pharmacokinetics. Designing and implementing strategy for assessing ADME issues and addressing those using conventional and novel technologies. Adept at mentoring and developing junior staff, managing contractors and CROs. Lead efforts to innovate within DMPK, and developed partnerships with multiple disciplines to hunt for leads.
Margaret K Offermann, MD, PhD is founding President and Chief Executive Officer of OncoSpherix, a preclinical stage small molecule therapeutics company. She previously was President of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), Deputy National Vice President for Research at the American Cancer Society, Professor of Hematology and Oncology at Emory University and Managing Partner of Salutramed Group (a C-level consulting group). She is widely published and has won numerous awards. She trained in Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago Hospitals and in Medical Oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. She is boarded in both Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology.
President
Afreen Allam: Founder/CEO Ms. Allam is a graduate of North Carolina State University with a double major in microbiology and biochemistry. She subsequently graduated from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business with her Masters of Business Administration in finance and banking. She has over 10 years of research in nanomedicine and her extensive studies on applications of carbon nanotechnology in drug delivery and bio-imaging led to the patenting of the Carbon NanoDot technology in 2013. At the age of 17 Ms.Allam had her first DNA sequence published and filed a patent at the age of 20. She has presented at numerous biomedical conferences including the Drugs & Diagnostics Conference, Biotech Research Symposium, and National Tech Connect Conference. She was a Forbes 30 under 30 finalist, Bustle Upstart awardee, Triangle Business Journal’s Rising Star Women in Business for 2019, Durham’s Women’s Achievement awardee, finalist for Mass Challenge, and NYU’s Endless Frontier Lab accelerator finalist.
Senior Vice President Drug Discovery
In his role of Sr Vice President, Drug Discovery & Platform Sciences, Vivek Vishnudas, Ph.D., oversees the development of experimental therapeutics from conception and drug discovery to first-in-human studies. Drug-discovery programs are based on the novel disease targets identified through the use of Interrogative Biology®. Dr. Vishnudas leads an interdisciplinary team of drug-discovery scientists, biochemists and DMPK scientists to illuminate target biology & pharmacology, while working closely with regulatory, analytics and biomarker teams.
Dr. Vishnudas manages the external R&D collaboration with industrial and academic partners, and aims to scale up Berg’s R&D therapeutics portfolio. He is a co-inventor of the Interrogative Biology® technology, and continues to spearhead development activities of “data-driven” technologies that enable drug discovery programs. His breadth of operations covers scientific leadership, strategic R&D initiatives and commercial and intellectual property strategies.
Head of Orphan Diseases Division
Venn Therapeutics is a highly innovative drug discovery incubator and immuno-oncology company developing a pipeline of novel, first-in-class agents that precisely target key mechanisms of cancer, fibrosis, and NASH, focused on integrin-mediated activation of TGF-β.Venn’s broad portfolio includes a pipeline of first-in-class antibodies targeting integrins for the treatment of cancer and fibrotic disorders. Venn leverages pioneering translational research working with world class scientific researchers at the cutting edge of the emerging field of immuno-oncology.
Sr. Director, Computational Biology and Data Sciences
Two decades of pharmaceutical industry experience in translational and discovery research across multiple therapeutic areas (Oncology, Immunology, Metabolic Diseases, and Neuroscience)
• Highly effective bioinformatics strategic and operational leadership; proven ability to partner across functions and focus on organizational priorities at all levels of governance
• Key contributions to the drug discovery and development portfolios by providing critical informatics data and insight with respect to genetics and genomics
• A population and molecular geneticist with in-depth bioinformatics and next-generation sequencing (NGS) skills
Chief Scientific Officer & SVP Clinical and Translational Sciences
Rangaprasad (Ranga) Sarangarajan, Ph.D., is the Chief Scientific Officer and SVP Clinical and Translational Sciences at BERG. He oversees all R&D, strategic planning and implementation of workflows for effective translation of discoveries through pharmaceutical and clinical developmental. He is responsible for a robust pipeline of assets in multiple disease indications, from validation of novel disease specific targets to drug discovery/development programs moving into IND enabling FIH proof-of-concept clinical program. Dr. Sarangarajan is an inventor and architect of the BERG Interrogative Biology® technology; currently focused on next generation R & D innovation in the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) based analytics, bioinformatics and RWD/RWE utility for speeding up identification/validation of targets, tractability, drug discovery & pharmaceutical/clinical development. Dr. Sarangarajan has numerous US and international patents (granted and pending), covering areas of the discovery platform, cancer, immunology, inflammation, neurology, metabolic diseases, diabetes, obesity and associated diagnostics.
Director, Biologics Device Development
Medical device and drug device combination product development leader, engineering director, manufacturing manager and experienced in working across functions and business groups in varying organizations. Have successfully brought new and effective products to market throughout the world, developed and implemented new engineering, quality control and manufacturing processes. Lead Product Development, and Engineering teams. Highly experienced and proficient in engineering and project management activities:strategic planning, design engineering, manufacturing engineering, design control, prioritization, contract engineering management, resource allocation, new product and process development.Specialties: Product development, project leadership and project management, combination product medical devices, laboratory process automation, regulatory standards and process, cross-functional communication, engineering management, product development
Skills: Six sigma, MS Office, 3D CAD, FEA, Safety Risk Management
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Learn from the industry’s top leading professionals. Increase your knowledge and partners under one roof
09.00 - 09.30 AM
Higher order structure and molecular mechanism of action analysis for accelerated drug design
09.30 - 10.00 Am
Target Identification; linking target and chemical properties to desired product pipeline.
Drug Targets with Genomic Support: A Genomics-based Strategic Framework for Improving Target Discovery and Accelerating Drug Development
Benefits, limitations, and diversity of AI model in drug and target discovery.
Deep generative autopilot for the real world design of novel lead compound.
Complexity simplified; comprehensive data management for complex world.
The Sponsorship opportunity at Meridian Drug Discovery come with countless benefits.
Meetings, meet with industry's most renowned decision-makers exclusively. Dine and discuss business in a private setting; competitor friendly atmosphere.
1The exhibition, deliver yourself from the irrelevant audience, surround yourself with the right decision-makers in a business-driven environment; choose quality over quantity.
3Presentation, Devote yourself to science, feed the next generation with experience-based knowledge. Grasp the opportunity to apprise yourself and your organization.
2Networking, a new partner, the next funding, is just one introduction away. introduce yourself to the right people in the right place. Initiate a new business relationship by being in the right place at the right time.
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