PARSIPPANY, N.J.– Melinta Therapeutics, LLC (“Melinta”), a commercial-stage company providing innovative therapies for acute and life-threatening illnesses, announces the appointment of Sunitha Lakshminarayanan, as Chief Technology Officer, effective today.
Ms. Lakshminarayanan is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience and brings to Melinta a wealth of CMC experience across small molecules, biologics, biosimilars, vaccines, cell/gene therapy and radiotherapeutic products. Over the course of her career, she has contributed to the development, commercialization and lifecycle management of several new products and technologies.
Sunitha joins Melinta from Actinium Pharmaceuticals where she was the Senior Vice President, Technical Operations, and overseeing CDMO operations, Regulatory, Quality and Supply Chain functions. Prior to that, Sunitha was at Bristol-Myers Squibb in their Cell Therapy division, as Executive Director, Global Process Engineering where she was responsible for the global licensure of two autologous cell therapy products. Prior to BMS, Sunitha was at Kashiv BioSciences where she led approvals for biosimilar products. Prior to Kashiv, she held various leadership positions at Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Laureate Pharma and BioReliance.
As an Executive Committee member reporting to Melinta’s President & CEO, Christine Ann Miller, Ms. Lakshminarayanan will be responsible for developing and leading Melinta’s Technical Operations, Global Quality and Supply Chain activities for optimal demand planning consistent with cost, quality, regulatory, reliability and delivery requirements. She will develop and execute a long-term supply chain and manufacturing strategy to ensure a reliable, high-quality supply of clinical and commercial products and provide strategic oversight and responsibility for all aspects of Global Quality, including quality assurance and quality systems.
“We are thrilled to welcome Sunitha as Chief Technology Officer at Melinta,” said Christine Ann Miller, President and CEO, of Melinta Therapeutics. “Her track record of driving operational excellence, engaging in strategic negotiations with suppliers and CMOs, strategizing in response to market dynamics, and overseeing product and supply planning make Sunitha the perfect leader to take on the challenges of this role. Her background in the preclinical, clinical, and commercial stage products and her outstanding commitment to patient care align perfectly with our mission to provide innovative therapies to people impacted by acute and life-threatening illnesses.”
Ms. Lakshminarayanan earned her M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Penn State University, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Coimbatore Institute of Technology in India.
“I am truly honored by the opportunity to join this amazing group of dedicated and passionate professionals at Melinta,” said Lakshminarayanan. “I look forward to working together to bring innovative therapies to people impacted by acute and life-threatening illnesses. Ensuring timely and quality compliant drug supply to patients is exciting and deeply fulfilling. I know that together we will continue to ensure that all people who need these vital therapies receive them.”
