Manasi Baker, PhD, is a Senior Scientist in Secant Group’s Translational Product Development team which focuses on the development of the novel polymer platform, Hydralese®, for improved drug delivery applications. Dr Baker focuses on developing multiple long-acting Hydralese form types for both small and large molecule delivery, including microspheres, gastroretentive devices, and subcutaneous implants. She also manages the platform’s intellectual property and provides her polymer expertise to lead customer development projects to success. During her career, Dr Baker has specialized in preformulation and formulation development of various form factors spanning from drug delivery devices to home and personal care products. Dr Baker has a PhD in Pharmaceutics from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences, and a Bachelor of Pharmacy from the University of Mumbai.

Tony Bedford is a Commercial Director at Phillips-Medisize and has been involved in the design and development of medical devices for over 25 years. He is part of a global team developing industry-leading solutions and platforms for drug delivery, digital medicine, and connected health. With a First Class Honours Degree in product design, his broad experience covers everything from innovation and market strategy to clinical research and product launch, with a focus on understanding market, stakeholder and user needs. Prior to joining Phillips-Medisize he held project management and business development roles in the consulting industry, working on a wide range of device programs. He has been specializing in drug delivery devices for a number of years.

Sean Bedingfield is a drug delivery specialist bridging gene editing & gene therapy early discovery and clinical translation with work spanning multiple platforms and modalities. Currently in Lilly’s Genetic Medicine division, he leads a small team in a blend of specific portfolio projects, internal platform development, external collaborations and vetting external technologies. Lilly’s interests are broad and ambitious in genetic medicine, as highlighted by their public partnerships including Dicerna Therapeutics, Scribe Therapeutics and Sangamo Therapeutics and acquisitions such as Prevail, Akouos and Verve Therapeutics. Receiving his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, his publications include high impact papers relating to intracellular assay development, RNA delivery leveraging targeted nanoparticles, protein engineering applications (now licensed by Anchor Biologics), and nanomedicine-related material science investigations. Prior to this role, he worked as a technical lead in business development for Pendant Biosciences.

Julien Bérard is Business Development Director over Corbion’s PURASORB® portfolio, which includes lactide and glycolide (co-)polymers. He works closely with partners in the creation of medical devices and long-acting pharmaceutical depots, and is intent on continuously improving PURASORB® materials and associated services to better support customers’ development and innovation efforts. Prior to joining Corbion in 2020, Mr Bérard held several positions in product development (injectable microparticles) and business development at DSM in the Netherlands. He obtained his MSc in Chemistry at the ENSCM of Montpellier (France) before earning an MBA at Rotterdam School of Management (the Netherlands).

Whitney Beysselance Moro joined Evonik as part of the acquisition of the LACTEL® Absorbable Polymers line in 2021. She is currently the Director of Strategic and Technical Marketing for Evonik’s Parenteral Drug Delivery Solutions business. Prior to the acquisition, Dr Moro served as the Director of Scientific and Technical Operations for the Lactel group within DURECT Corporation. In this capacity, she was responsible for managing the analytical testing and development for all LACTEL products, developing and optimizing manufacturing and purification processes for new products (including glucose star polymer), and bridging the gap between technical and customer support for new and existing clients. Dr Moro obtained her PhD in organic medicinal chemistry from the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB), USA, which was followed by postdoctoral training at UAB in the discovery of small-molecule antibacterial drugs with activity against novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of biowarfare agents

Deep S. Bhattacharya, PhD is a Principal Scientist in Drug Product Design and Development at Pfizer’s Pharmaceutical R&D site in Andover, Massachusetts, where he has been contributing since 2019. With over eight years of experience in CMC drug product formulation and biopharmaceutical sciences, Deep has led the development of high and ultra-high concentration biologics, gene therapies, recombinant proteins, and vaccine formulations from early-stage research through commercialization.

He specializes in subcutaneous delivery systems, combination product development, and biophysical strategies to enhance drug stability and patient-centric design. Deep has played a pivotal role in cross-functional collaborations across clinical pharmacology, regulatory affairs, market access, and strategic portfolio planning. He has also led regulatory submissions (INDs and BLAs) across global markets and driven successful tech transfers and manufacturing readiness for late-stage programs.

Deep is actively involved in strategic alliances with academic and industry partners, and leads initiatives within the Subcutaneous Consortium to advance IV-to-SC bridging strategies. He is a recognized thought leader with over 35 external presentations and publications, and currently pursuing an MBA to further strengthen his business development and innovation leadership.

His research interests include biophysical characterization of biologics, higher-order structural analysis, subcutaneous assessments, and the integration of scientific and business strategies to accelerate biopharmaceutical innovation.

Benjamin S Bleier, MD, FACS, is an Associate Professor and the Claire and John Bertucci Chair in Otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear. Dr Bleier is the Director of Translational Research, Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery, and Co-Director of the Center for Thyroid Eye Disease and Orbital Surgery. Dr Bleier is an R01 funded surgeon-scientist with 10 patents and over 200 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and textbooks. He lectures internationally on endoscopic management of orbit and skull base tumors as well as intranasal drug delivery to the brain. His work has been featured in TIME Magazine, CNN, Forbes, Wired, Popular Science, Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, and Harvard Medicine Magazine.

Ulrich Brüggemann has been working on the development of medical device and diagnostics technologies and products for over 30 years in the US and Germany. After graduation from the University of Applied Sciences, Frankfurt, he worked at Mass General Hospital, Nova Biomedical, Sanofi and has been working for 5 years at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Over the last 18 years he focused mainly on the development of drug device combination products in various technical and management positions. He recently led initiatives to identify promising innovative technology at academic institutions and entrepreneurial startup companies. In his currently role he is leading early technology feasibility activities and device strategy focusing on rare diseases.

Marigrace Ambrosia is a Director in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences R&D Advisory Services practice with 10+ years of experience working in clinical R&D, clinical data management, and clinical operations. Ms Ambrosia has focused on clinical trial innovation at the intersection of technology and operations for clinical trials to create and implement fit for purpose solutions tailored to fit specific needs across clinical scientists, operations, data management, and IT. She has significant experience in strategy and deployment of new technologies including, protocol design tools, digital protocol, eCOA, eConsent, telehealth, sensors/wearables, and trial orchestration tools.

Prior to joining PwC, Ms Ambrosia worked at a US AMC, her industry experience includes operational improvement, strategic planning, resource allocation, clinical trial site selection, data management and storage, statistical analysis, regulatory, and project management in neuroscience research.

Dr Brian Anderson is chief digital health physician at MITRE, where he leads research and development efforts across major strategic initiatives in digital health alongside industry and the U. S. government. Dr Anderson is responsible for co-founding the Coalition for Health AI (CHAI), and the VCI™ coalition of more than 1,000 organizations assembled during the COVID-19 pandemic to work towards interoperable and verifiable clinical information; leading MITRE’s development of machine learning techniques to leverage real world health data; and linking genomic and clinical data to provide insight into the efficacy of therapeutics and vaccines. He also leads MITRE’s largest health R&D effort in oncology and personalized medicine. His team helps to architect, implement, and analyze health data and information systems for federal agencies, including HHS, CMS, the FDA, and VA

.Dr Anderson is an internationally recognized author and expert in digital health, and is regularly engaged as a speaker on digital health innovation, health standards development, clinical decision support systems, and interoperability. He has been quoted in leading publications, including CBS News, CNN, Fast Company, Forbes, STAT, and USA Today. Prior to joining MITRE, Dr Anderson led the Informatics and Network Medicine Division at athenahealth, where he launched a new model of clinical decision support leveraging artificial intelligence. He has also served on several national health information technology committees in partnership with the Office of the National Coordinator.

Dr Anderson completed his clinical training at Massachusetts General Hospital and practiced in Greater Lawrence (MA). He completed his BA and MD degrees at Harvard College and Harvard Medical School.

Arnaud Bastien, MD is Vice President, Global Program Lead for Mavacamten and the Global Drug Development Cardiovascular Products Transition Lead at Bristol Myers Squibb.

Dr Bastien is a board-certified internist with 15+ years of industry experience. Dr Bastien has held key leadership positions in clinical drug development positions of multiple compounds at Roivant Sciences, Akros Pharma, Amarin and BMS in Cardiovascular, Metabolic and Immunology.

Dr Bastien received degrees from Columbia University, Universidad Mundial Dominicana, Dominican Republic and completed his post-graduate training in Internal Medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine, Cooper University Hospital.  He also attended Rutgers University School of Business and Management for executive education in Biopharma Innovation. For the past 12 years, Dr Bastien has served as a member of the Board of Trustees at the Coriell Institute for Medical Research.