BioVoice News eMag August 2023 | Page 40

I N T E R V I E W

Dr Radha Rangarajan has been actively involved in translational research and product development in the public health arena for the last two decades . Working closely at the interface between academia , start-ups and industry , her experiences span the drug discovery , diagnostics and medical devices sectors . A recipient of FICCI Award of Excellence-Women in R & D in 2019 , she was selected for the “ Champions of Change ” initiative of Prime Minister Modi , recognizing India ’ s emerging entrepreneurs in 2017 .
Between 2003 and 2009 , Dr Rangarajan worked in the Drug Discovery division of Dr Reddy ’ s Laboratories in Hyderabad . She served in multiple roles , successfully developing early stage molecules for various therapeutic areas such as anti-infectives , diabetes and cardiovascular disease . Thereafter , she co-founded Vitas Pharma , a drug discovery and development company focused on novel therapies to treat highly resistant infections .
Dr Rangarajan is a member of the Steering Council of the MedTech Incubator , International Institute of Information Technology , Hyderabad ( IIIT-H ), member of the Scientific Program Committee of IHub-Data , IIIT-H , member of the Selection Committee of the NIDHI-Seed Support System at the Atal Incubation Centre-CCMB and member of the Selection Committee for DST INSPIRE Faculty Fellows .
2022 ) for a nano-formulation from Spinacia oleracea for Osteoarthritis . In addition , a DNA binding dye for
What initiatives or strategies are you implementing to bridge the gap between academia and industry in the field of drug discovery ?
CDRI has been engaging with industry since its inception . CDRI ’ s research and development activities in drugs , diagnostics and process technologies have required interactions and tech transfers , mainly to the pharmaceutical industry . Our current engagements are
research use and a universal quencher for RT-PCR assays have been transferred to industry partners .
with small , medium and large sized pharma and biotech companies in the life sciences sector . We invite speakers from such companies to our campus to give talks and discuss areas of common interest with our scientists . We also participate in industry events to showcase our IP and products in development . Further , we offer services in drug testing , toxicology , in vitro screening , in vivo pharmacology and analytical chemistry , which are
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BioVoiceNews | August 2023