
Role: Mentor
Tracks: Life Sciences
Satish Chandran
Chief executive Officer, Prodigy Biotech, Inc.
Satish Chandran is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Prodigy Biotech, since 2021. Prodigy Bio is engaged in developing products based on IgY (chicken egg immunoglobin)-based technology to develop products that edit the microbiome addressing significant unmet clinical needs. Prior to Prodigy Bio, Satish Chandran (Satish) founded Somahlution- focused on developing products for cardiac surgery and transplantation. He was the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and a member of its Board of Directors since its inception in 2010 until it was acquired by Marizyme 2020, following which he remained as the President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer of Marizyme until 2021. Satish’s career started at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia in 1984 where he was a post-doctoral fellow and a Research Associate in the mechanistic enzymology/biophysics group. His career in industry started when he joined Apollon in 1992, a company focused on developing first-in-class nucleic acid-based products, where his team launched several novel vaccine products into the clinic. Following the acquisition of Apollon by Wyeth in 1998, Satish directed the Nucleic Acid vaccine group at Wyeth Vaccines. Satish left Wyeth Vaccines to cofound Nucleonics in 2000, based on his discoveries in RNA interference. As its COO and CSO, he advanced the development of first-in-class products for HBV and HCV therapeutics. He joined Pfizer Biotherapeutics-OTU as its Chief Technology Officer in 2008, heading programs in oncology and metabolic diseases. He left Pfizer in 2010 and founded Somahlution-a medical device company, to build a novel concept in the treatment for ischemia reperfusion injury. At Somahlution as its CEO, Satish built the teams that advanced several products through development, including the worldwide commercial launch of its flagship product DuraGraft, a novel 1st in class product that prevents Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in vascular conduits for use in vascular surgeries such as CABG and improve clinical outcomes. All through and between his tenure in industry Satish joined academia as faculty; starting at Fox Chase Cancer Center, followed by; as Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Thomas Jefferson University (2000-2002), as Professor at Blumberg Institute (Institute for Viral Hepatitis Research) in 2008-2009, as Professor at North Dakota State University (2010-2012) and as the Director of the Center of Excellence for Biopharmaceutical Research & Development and Professor of Pharmaceutics. Dr. Chandran received his Ph.D. from Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Satish has produced numerous publications in vaccines, drugs and biologics and several patents in diverse areas of biotechnology. His career in biological research and development has spanned across academia and industry; early start up and mid-stage biotech companies to large pharmaceutical companies. His research and business interests have been in drug discovery, product development with commercial focus spanning across biologics, vaccines, drugs and medical devices. Dr. Chandran is a distinguished biotechnology veteran with nearly 30 years of leadership positions. Dr. Chandran brings valuable in-depth knowledge and experience in various aspects of the pharmaceutical industry to the companies that he is currently serves on the Board, and these include Prodigy Bio, Lay Sciences, Akshaya Bio, Statera Biopharma and Avstera.