Biography

Niranjan Y. Sardesai, Ph.D.
Chief Operating Officer

Dr. Sardesai has broad operating and consulting experience in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. He joined VGX Pharmaceuticals as VP Research and Development in 2006, was promoted to SVP R&D in 2007 and, with the merger of VGX with Inovio in June 2009, became SVP Research & Development of the merged company. Dr. Sardesai is responsible for leading the company's product development programs in infectious disease and cancer vaccines and vaccine delivery systems. He has secured over $30 million in non-dilutive funding through government and NGO grants/contracts. Under his leadership the company has advanced vaccine programs for cervical dysplasia, HIV, and influenza that are now in Phase I/II clinical studies. He currently serves as the principal investigator on an NIAID funded HVDDT contract for the development of HIV vaccines and an MVI-PATH funded program for the development of malaria vaccines. While at VGX, Dr. Sardesai was instrumental in formulating and directing the company's development and growth strategy through its mergers with Advisys, Inc. & Inovio Biomedical. He also had direct P&L responsibility for the company's cGMP contract manufacturing facility prior to its divestiture.

Prior to VGX, Dr. Sardesai was the founder and President of NVision Consulting Inc., a strategy consulting firm focused on entrepreneurial life sciences companies, and he served as Director R&D at Fujirebio Diagnostics, Inc. At Fujirebio, Dr. Sardesai oversaw R&D and expansion of the oncology portfolio. Products developed under his leadership include new-to-the-world tests for mesothelioma (MESOMARK™), bladder cancer and a multi-marker test for ovarian cancer. He has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications, presented at over 75 invited lectures and presentations, and filed several patents. Dr. Sardesai received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the recipient of the Shils-Zeidman Award in Entrepreneurship. He completed fellowships at Scripps Research Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Sardesai received his bachelors and masters in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.