I have always been fascinated by the power of synthetic organic chemistry and how it can best be applied to the development of new medicines in order to treat and cure human diseases. Over the last 20 years I have worked at both small and large organizations in the pharmaceutical industry, focusing to design efficient and environmentally friendly chemical processes that provide active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) for use in human clinical studies and beyond. Since joining Genentech in 2006 I have contributed to the supply of API’s for various new developmental medicines including the areas of cancer, immunology and antibody drug conjugates. I have very much enjoyed to be a part of Genentech’s multifaceted research and development organization that challenges and encourages deeper learning.
As a process chemist, I develop and optimize chemistry that is being employed in the synthesis of small molecule drug substances. With the goal in mind to eventually manufacture these compounds on commercial scale, I enjoy to put to practice the use of suitable technologies that enable process development, such as high throughput screening, calorimetric safety analysis and flow technology. Most of all I enjoy to simplify processes in order to make them more efficient.
I find it very rewarding to interact with various disciplines like Discovery Chemistry, QC, QA, Pharmaceutics, DMPK, Regulatory and Clinical Operations. Only as a team can we efficiently tackle the daunting task of developing a new medicine and bringing it to the patient.