PharmaCyte Biotech Inc, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing targeted treatments for cancer and diabetes using its signature live-cell encapsulation technology, Cell-in-a-Box, today announced that it has appointed Dr Sanjay Batra as its Senior Business Development Advisor.
The press release indicates that Dr Sanjay Batra brings to PharmaCyte more than 20 years of global healthcare and entrepreneurial experience in start-ups, biotech and large pharma.
Dr Batra spent 10 years at Johnson & Johnson, culminating as Vice President, R&D Pharmaceuticals, Asia-Pacific and Japan. He is highly skilled in partnering with diverse stakeholders, such pharmaceutical companies, the investment community, academia and key opinion leaders. In addition, Dr Batra has been involved in over 80 clinical trials in all phases of development and commercialization.
Commenting on the appointment PharmaCyte's Chief Executive Officer, Kenneth L Waggoner, said, "We are pleased that Dr Batra has agreed to join our team, as we now have a cGMP-compliant facility and are ready to enter into the next phase of our life-cycle as a biotech company. We believe that his experience at Johnson & Johnson and his global network will prove invaluable to PharmaCyte. His expertise in scientific, medical and business areas, both domestically and internationally, will be a key asset as we move PharmaCyte forward towards the successful development of our novel platform technology to treat pancreatic cancer and diabetes."
Dr Batra said, "I am very excited to be part of the PharmaCyte team at this pivotal time. The technology holds tremendous promise to help physicians and their patients in areas of significant unmet medical need. Mr. Waggoner has built a very solid organization, and I look forward to making contributions with pace and rigor to advance our product pipeline towards commercialization."
Most recently, Dr. Batra served as President and CEO of Aesthetic Factors, an emerging company providing autologous, point-of-care therapies in Regenerative Medicine. In this role, Dr. Batra led the commercial growth of their platelet-rich plasma and autologous fat products and was instrumental in establishing the company as the science driven leader. In 2013, Dr Batra founded VIAS Partners with the aspiration to take his diverse experiences and global network to partner with entrepreneurs and companies to advance their business concepts.
Dr Batra obtained his PhD in medical physiology from the University of Ottawa, Canada, and completed his post-doctoral training with world-renowned scientists in Japan and Switzerland. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and an Adjunct Professor at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Dr Batra has published over 50 papers and 70 abstracts, and has made more than 100 invited scientific presentations.
