Speakers

Dr Mahesh Bhalgat

Co-Chairman, CII National Committee on Biotechnology & Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer

Dr Mahesh Bhalgat is Executive Director – COO of Shantha Biotechnics. As head of Industrial Operations for Shantha, he has focused his efforts on regaining the WHO-pre qualification and initiating commercial supply of Shan5, Shantha’s pentavalent vaccine. Mahesh completed his B.Pharm from the University of Mumbai in India. Following his undergraduate education, Mahesh completed his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Utah. He has spent 20 years in the United States in the field of biotechnology and biologics before returning to India in 2009. While in the United States, Mahesh worked in many different areas of the biotechnology industry in the areas of R&D, Analytical & Process Development, Technology Transfer, Regulatory Sciences and Quality. Mahesh has experience dealing with the diversity seen in industry, working with both small and large companies in the United States such as Celera Genomics, Molecular Probes, Monsanto and Amgen. Within the biologics arena, Mahesh has worked on biotherapeutics, vaccines, agricultural biotechnology and research diagnostics. He has contributed to the submission of commercial and clinical product regulatory dossiers for biotherapeutics, achieved approvals for biotech crops and launched new research diagnostics tools. Following his return to India, Mahesh started working with Biological E Ltd. where he has contributed to the India and WHO approval of multiple vaccine products. Mahesh joined Shantha Biotech in 2013 and became a Board Member in 2015 and since then has been leading the transformation of vaccine industrial affairs.