Prof. Sanjay Kumar, PhD, FRSC, is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus. He is a synthetic organic, bioorganic, and medicinal chemist with over 25 years of experience in drug discovery and development, including leadership roles at Piramal Life Sciences and Zydus Life Sciences.
His expertise spans the entire drug discovery pipeline, from target identification to the delivery of IND candidates. He has contributed to the advancement of more than 10 novel chemical entities (NCEs) to IND-enabling stages across therapeutic areas such as oncology, inflammation, metabolic disorders, infectious diseases, anemia, and cardiovascular diseases. He is credited with the development of an approved drug for anemia (Desidustat/Oxemia) in India, along with multiple candidates that have progressed to Phase I and II clinical trials in India and the USA.
His current research integrates medicinal chemistry across diverse therapeutic areas—oncology, inflammatory disorders, metabolic disorders, antimicrobials, anemia, cardiovascular, and CNS diseases—with phytopharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and advanced drug delivery systems, emphasizing nanocarrier-based translational formulations to enhance therapeutic efficacy and regulatory readiness.
He has co-authored over 40 publications, holds more than 30 patents, and has delivered over 100 invited lectures. His contributions have been recognized with awards including the OPPI Scientist Award (2011) and the ISCB Industry Scientist Award (2012).
Prof. Kumar obtained his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Allahabad and completed postdoctoral research at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and the University of Georgia, USA, where he worked in immunology and biomolecular interactions, leading to publications in high-impact journals such as JBC and PNAS.
