Vikas Chandra Email & Phone Number

Focus: Development of robust, cost effective, scalable downstream bio-processes and technology transfer. • Managing and supervising teams of scientists, engineers and technical staff focused on developing novel, efficient, scalable and transferable downstream processing and technologies to manufacturing facilities for both for Government and commercial clients. • Expertise in downstream operations including harvest, clarification, chromatography, filtration, viral clearance, formulations, optimization, risk assessments and mitigation, strategic planning, budgeting etc.• Experience in scale-down model validation and process characterization studies towards product development for commercialization. Drafting and review of tech reports and regulatory documents.• Cross functional management/collaborations with upstream, analytical, QC, QA, cGMP, vendors, project management, regulatory agencies, and clients for timely execution and delivery of bioprocesses. • Demonstrated history of successful development and delivery on multiple projects involving recombinant proteins, antibodies and in particular challenging viral vectors such as Vaccinia, Chikungunya, Zika, Ebola, Dengue, YFV, VLPs, Polio, HCMV, HIV, Myxo, AAVs etc.

La Jolla, Ca, Us

Focus: Downstream Process development & Preclinical drug discovery on Nuclear Receptors & Viral vectors. • Downstream process development/Scale-up/Characterization/HTP-screenings/Assay development for various drug targets such as RARβ-RXRα, HNF4α, REV-ERBS, ERRs, PR, ER, RORs, LXR, RXR, NURR1, NOR1, NCOAs, HIF-ARNT and also for VLPs, Antibodies, AAVs as potential IND candidates.• Oversee bench and pilot scale process development activities in protein production core facility.• Directed scientific and management strategy for process design, optimization, characterization, statistical analysis, process validation, tech. transfer and regulatory submission for multiple programs.• Proven success in building and leading high-performing teams to advance projects to timely completion.• Discovered the allosteric regulatory mechanism in nuclear receptors through inter-domain signal transmission (Nature 495). Opened a new approach of drug targeting in pharmacologically significant nuclear receptors by directing therapeutic molecules to sensitive inter- junctional sites (Nature Communications 8).

Charlottesville, Virginia, Us

Focus: Expression, Purification, Characterization & Structure-function studies on nuclear receptors• Developed downstream processes producing milligrams to grams scales of ultra-purified biologics supporting structure based drug design program and pre-clinical studies.• Successfully expressed and purified difficult drug target proteins: full length Human Estrogen Receptor (hER), Retinoic acid Receptor (RAR), Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR), Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR), Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR), Androgen receptor (AR) etc.• Adept in managing resources and bringing innovation along with implementing state of the art downstream process technology.• Revealed the monumental first crystal structure of intact PPARγ-RXRα-DNA heterodimer. This rare accomplishment was achieved by innovative downstream process development of the complex. Enabling a new path for scientists to design drugs more rationally and with higher efficacy (Nature 456).

New Delhi, Delhi, In

Focus: Process development and Structure based drug design on Phospholipase A2 inhibitors for therapeutics• Effectively managed and mentored biochemists, chemists, associates at BS/MS/PhD levels.• Supervised development of purification processes for macromolecules heterocomplexes involving other proteins, peptides, small molecules with specific stoichiometry (J. Biol. Chem. 277 & Acta Cryst. D58).• Hitherto obscure design rules for PLA2 inhibitory mechanism were postulated based on crystal structures of PLA2 in complex with Vitamin E (J. Mol. Biol. 320) and Aristolochic acid (Biochemistry 41). • Excellent communication, technical writing and troubleshooting skills.

Postdoctoral Associate

Doctor Of Philosophy (Phd), Biochemistry And Biophysics

Master Of Science (Ms), Biotechnology