Biomaterial Implants to Reduce Patient Burden and Improve Adherence

As Chief Operating Officer of R&D and Cofounder of Pendant Biosciences, Dr Elmquist is transforming the way the pharma market uses polymers (starting with whether they’re using them at all). He received his PhD in Chemistry at Vanderbilt University, where his research focused on oligonucleotide synthesis containing site-specific food mutagens. He continued his cancer research as a Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT in the Department of Biological Engineering where his research focused on the role of inflammation and endogenous DNA damage as drivers of carcinogenesis and age-related diseases. He currently holds a seat on the board of BioTN Foundation, Tennessee’s leading non-profit focused on STEM in education, workforce development, and entrepreneurship. He previously held a scientist role at BioMimetic Therapeutics developing therapeutic products with platelet-derived growth factor, followed by a Business Development Role at the Cool Springs Life Sciences Center.

Jaymin Shah is a Senior Research Fellow in Pharmaceutical Sciences and heads a global biopharmaceutics group in Pfizer R & D. He also holds an adjunct faculty appointment at the University of Houston and University of Connecticut. He obtained his PhD in Pharmaceutics from University of Houston. From 1988-1999 he served as Associate Professor (Tenured) of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Medical University of South Carolina, where he led a lab developing sustained release parenteral delivery systems and modeling of skin transport and mentored 7 PhD and 2 MS graduates. Jaymin joined Pfizer in 1999 where he has led formulation groups and project teams supporting development of various candidates as parenteral/ophthalmic dosage forms, peptide and oligonucleotides development and research initiatives in parenteral and ophthalmic delivery including LAI, depots, sterile suspensions, implants, and nanoparticles. Jaymin has been recognized with achievement awards for leadership and innovation in Pfizer. Jaymin has published 70 papers, 10 patents/patent applications, 75 abstracts and made more than 114 presentations at various scientific forums such as Arden House Conference, AAPS symposia, CRS, FDA and academic centers. His current research interests include PBPK modeling and in vitro translational studies to predict biopharmaceutics risk for drug candidates, topical drug delivery, parenteral sustained release (depot), nanoparticles, ophthalmic delivery, and topical formulation development. Currently he leads a global biopharmaceutics group providing biopharma risk assessment and strategy for biopharmaceutical aspects for drug development using in vitro performance and PBPK modeling.

With a comprehensive background in drug delivery sciences and biomaterial design spanning six years, Dr Eileen Sadeghi has developed a strong foundation of expertise in the field. Dr Sadeghi earned her PhD in Chemical and Biological engineering from Tufts University, where her research focused on the design and synthesis of smart polymers, specifically targeting the separation of pharmaceuticals based on their chemical structure. This pioneering work, chemoselective membranes, has been recognized and featured in esteemed journals. Notably, it was acknowledged as one of the "50 discoveries looking forward to the next 50 years of innovation in engineering" by The Bridge 50th Anniversary Issue, published by the National Academy of Engineering in January 2021. Additionally, Dr Sadeghi patented a new approach for fabrication of ultrathin, multifunctional hydrogel selective layers. She was honored to receive the Outstanding Academic Scholarship from the School of Engineering, distinguishing these efforts among all engineering schools. Continuing her pursuit of scientific excellence, Dr Sadeghi embarked on a postdoctoral research position at the Langer lab at MIT. Here, her primary focus revolved around the development of nano/microparticles for vaccines and adjuvants, with the overarching goal of enhancing vaccination strategies. She successfully led two prominent projects funded by the Gates Foundation, which aimed to achieve mucosal immunity through the peripheral administration of adjuvant nanoparticles and the creation of self-boosting vaccine microparticles. Currently, Dr Sadeghi holds a Senior Scientist II position at Abbvie in the Drug Delivery and Biomaterial Department. Her expertise lies in the sustained delivery of small molecules for the treatment of back of the eye diseases. Additionally, she has been spearheading the genetic medicine effort for ocular applications, further expanding my knowledge and proficiency in this rapidly evolving field. Throughout my career, Dr Sadeghi has gained extensive experience in executing innovative drug delivery platforms tailored to a broad spectrum of therapeutics, including small molecules, active biologics such as vaccines, proteins, and neurotoxins, as well as nucleic acids.

Milin Shah has more than 14 years of pharmaceutical development and business experience. He has hands-on experience developing many treatments in oncology, virology and immunology for clinical and commercial drug products. Milin has vast experience with modalities such as small molecules, peptides, nucleotides, recombinant fusion proteins and mAbs. He's an expert on nano and complex injectable drug product and process development. Milin is a pharmacist by training and completed his PhD research focused on cancer therapy development with RNA therapeutics and LNPs.