The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Kavita Singh as Director of the South Asia office and a member of the organization’s Extended Executive Team.
She comes to DNDi with over twenty years of experience in pharmaceutical/biotech industry, government, and not-for-profit organizations. Dr Singh’s personal commitment is to ensure that India’s leadership in drug development and manufacturing are showcased well. She feels strongly about strengthening the mechanisms to support research and innovation for neglected diseases.
Most recently, Dr Singh served as Mission Director, National Biopharma Mission, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a Public Sector Undertaking of Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India. An extremely ambitious project between the Government of India and World Bank has been one of the key drivers which has pushed India’s biotech sector innovative quotient in the last few years.
Dr Singh, as a Program Director of Multi Vaccines Development Program, led this not-for-profit scientific research society established by Dept of Biotechnology, GoI, PATH and International Centre for genetic engineering and Biotechnology and funded by BMGF. The objective of this research society was to accelerate the translational development of malaria vaccines discovered at academic institutes. During her tenure, the programme successfully completed technology transfer from academia to industry, regulatory filing and conduct of two Phase I, first-in-human vaccine trials for novel recombinant malaria vaccine candidates.
In her long stint in the private sector, Dr Singh worked as Director, Business Development at Fortis Clinical Research Limited, as a Group Leader, Medical Affairs & Clinical Research at Ranbaxy Laboratories and as Head, Medical Affairs at Shantha Biotechnics Private Limited, Hyderabad (now Sanofi Healthcare India Pvt Ltd.).
‘I am delighted to welcome Dr Singh to DNDi,’ said Dr Bernard Pécoul, Executive Director. ‘Her knowledge of public health, pharmaceutical research, and international development are a considerable asset for DNDi. I am grateful for her clear commitment to leading DNDi South Asia into the future and her vision for nurturing the partnerships that underpin our mission to meet neglected patient’s needs.‘
Dr Singh holds MBBS degree and MD in Microbiology. She also did an Executive Program in Business Management and Postgraduate Diploma in Epidemiology. Dr Singh is a life member of the Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists and Indian Society of Clinical Research. She is a member of WHO’s Product Development Vaccine Advisory Committee (PDVAC). She is passionate about yoga and travel and has completed a 50-day road trip from India to London.
