The Principal Vaccine Manufacturing Summit for Developing Countries

Mr. Prashant Chawla is a seasoned Bioprocess Manager with over 20 years of progressive experience in drug substance manufacturing, process engineering, validation, and regulatory compliance. His career spans prestigious Indian and multinational organizations, including Hyde Engineering & Consulting, Serum Institute of India, and currently, Biological E Ltd.

With a deep-rooted expertise in vaccine bulk antigen manufacturing, Mr. Chawla has led end-to-end operations encompassing scale-up, technology transfer, and cGMP compliance for critical vaccines such as Diphtheria, Hib Conjugate Vaccine, and Typhoid Vi Polysaccharide. He has played a pivotal role in the successful manufacturing of Typhoid O2 Polysaccharide, CRM197, and CORBEVAX (COVID-19 Vaccine), steering cross-functional teams to deliver operational excellence.

Mr. Chawla has overseen technology transfers for both bacterial and recombinant antigen production, consistently optimizing production timelines and resources while ensuring alignment with stringent global regulatory frameworks, including USFDA, EU, WHO, and ANVISA standards.

In addition to his technical acumen, Mr. Chawla holds certifications in Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and has pursued professional development in Managerial Economics and Operations Management.

He holds a Master’s degree in Bioprocess Engineering from ICT and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, complemented by multiple cGMP certifications and regulatory training credentials.

Rajinder as CEO-DCVMN International is responsible for providing leadership, shaping strategic vision, governance and overall operational excellence of DCVMN. Rajinder is committee delegate on GAVI-PPC, a member of GAVI’s Vaccine Investment Strategy (VIS) Steering Committee 2024, a permanent member of CEPI’s Joint Coordination Group (JCG), 2023-24 and a member of PAVMs Talent Development WS as well as Strategic Advisory Board (SAB) of the Regional Vaccine Manufacturing Collaborative (RVMC).

In response to un-precedented challenge posed by COVID-19, Rajinder has actively participated in global strategic initiatives alongside COVAX partners-WHO, GAVI, CEPI, UNICEF and various other international organizations and industry associations.

Rajinder has contributed as a member of several advisory expert groups including COVAX Manufacturing & Supply Chain Task Force Leadership Team, G-20 Health Working Group under Indonesia and India presidency and Market Design and Demand Intelligence pillar of PAVM. He is on the Governing Board of Life Sciences Skill Development Council (LSSSDC).

With over 25 years of top management experience in the industry, Rajinder has served on the Board of Directors of the Indian subsidiary of Sanofi Pasteur and held the position of CEO-Panacea Biotec. Rajinder has served earlier as Member-GAVI-PPC as well as Vice-President, DCVMN Executive Committee from 2014-16.

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Dr. Kapil Maithal is currently working as President – Vaccines and Diagnostics at Zydus Lifesciences, India. He has over 25years of experience in the field of Vaccines, Biologicals and Diagnostics Research, Development and Manufacturing.​

He did his doctorate in biochemistry from University of Delhi, followed by post-doctoral research in structural biology fromIndian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore. Subsequently, he joined as a faculty at University of Delhi in Biomedical researchbefore moving to industry, where over the years he has led the development of numerous viral, bacterial, toxoid,polysaccharide, conjugate and protein subunit vaccines for human and veterinary use. Recently, he also led the research &development of World’s First Licensed human DNA Vaccine, ZyCoV-D® against COVID-19.​

He also has interest in global public health and has served as a member of Independent Review Committee of GAVIAlliance, Geneva, Expert Working Group of “Vaccines & Immunosera for human use” of Indian PharmacopoeiaCommission and Technical Expert Committee of BIRAC, Govt. of India. He has also been on the recruitment panel ofNISCAIR, CSIR; Gujarat Biotechnology University and advisory board for BIRAC -GMP Project of CSIR-IMTECH and School ofBiotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.​

Dr. Maithal is also a fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry, UK and Royal Society of Biology, UK. He has number of patentsand international publications in peer reviewed journals to his credit and is also a reviewer to number of peer reviewedjournals including Vaccine, NPJ Vaccines, International Journal of Medicine and Medical sciences, PLOS ONE etc.

Syed S Ahmed is the Director & CEO of Techinvention Lifecare Limited, India (A Forbes India 200 listed company in 2024) which is into Vaccines & IVD: Development and Manufacturing with focus on the Global South.   He also serves as Vice President & Board Member of Emerging Biopharmaceutical Manufacturers Network https://www.ebpmn-international.org/. A Not-For-Profit Association of 10 leading Biopharmaceutical manufacturers from Emerging markets. With TechInvention : Syed has over 15 Patents filed in the field of vaccines, diagnostics and novel biotherapeutics & 5+Publications in High Impact factor Journals. He has led challenging Vaccine initiatives and Projects to Success across Latam, Africa & Asia with unconventional strategies which forms the essence of his today's presentation.