PDA India Chapter

Chapter Officers

• 
  Rishikesh Jaiwant

  EVP, Head of India SC Operations

  President

  GSK

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  Rishikesh is the Executive Vice President and Head of Supply Chain at GSK India, Mumbai, leading end-to-end supply chain operations across in-house manufacturing, external supply, and imports. He is accountable for ensuring that General Medicines, Specialty, and Vaccine products are delivered with the highest standards of safety, quality, cost efficiency, and timeliness, aligning with GSK’s global business objectives. With over 27 years of experience in pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing within FDA-regulated facilities, Rishikesh brings deep expertise across Operations, Quality, Project Management, Operational Excellence, and Technical Training. Before assuming his current role, he served as Site Director at Baxter Pharmaceuticals, Ahmedabad, following a distinguished 21-year tenure with GSK, including four years at its Marietta (PA), USA vaccine facility. He holds a postgraduate degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from Indore, India.

• 
  Raghuram Chandra Rao

  Vice President Quality

  President-Elect

  Gland Pharma Ltd

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  Raghuram holds an M.Pharm in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and has over two decades of experience in quality systems. He started his career in academics for two years before moving into the industry. He has been involved in developing and executing quality systems and designing the quality metrics to regulate the quality of medicines, specifically in the area of parenteral formulations. He has been involved in the training and development of young talents to serve the industry better. He is also actively involved in PDA, in the knowledge sharing process. Currently, he is the Vice President, Quality with Gland Pharma Limited.  Prior to this he has also been associated with AstraZeneca & Dr Reddy's.

• 
  Somasundaram G (Som)

  Global Principal Consultant

  Secretary

  Merck Life Sciences

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  Somasundaram (Som) Gopalakrishnan has more than 25 years of combined experience in the pharma and biopharmaceutical industry. He has broad experience in the areas of aseptic processing, downstream processing of biologics, and closed processing. Som is the Global Principal Consultant for Merck Life Sciences under the Process Solutions division, based in Bangalore, India. He has spent close to 24 years with Millipore and Merck in roles of increasing responsibilities. His previous tenure includes heading South Asia technology management, Validation Services, Technical Services, and Sales Management. Som was formerly a Board Member and Secretary of PDA Singapore Chapter. Som holds a Master’s degree in Microbiology and Business Management.

• 
  Ravi Chander Katta

  Sr. Director Quality

  Treasurer

  Pfizer India

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  Ravi is an accomplished microbiologist with more than 23 years of expertise in Quality Control, Quality Assurance, and Compliance. He possesses extensive experience in sterile injectables manufacturing, particularly in pharmaceutical, biological, and vaccine sectors across India. Ravi has contributed his skills to esteemed organizations including Gland Pharma, Bharat Biotech, Indian Immunologicals, and Mylan Laboratories. He is currently employed as Sr. Director at Pfizer Global Supply Division, Vizag Manufacturing Facility, where he has been leading the Quality function since July 2022. Ravi is responsible for overseeing quality and compliance initiatives with a focus on continuous improvement processes. Ravi is a recognized leader with extensive experience in pharmaceutical and biological organizations. He is dedicated to guiding the organization toward delivering high-quality, safe products for patients by fostering confidence and a culture of care among employees.