ELRIG appoints Drs Hitesh Sanganee and Marcus Schindler to scientific advisory board
ELRIG, a not-for-profit, volunteer-led organisation dedicated to the global drug discovery community, has appointed Drs Hitesh Sanganee and Marcus Schindler to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Their appointments strengthen ELRIG's scientific leadership and reinforce the organisation's commitment to delivering relevant, forward-thinking scientific programmes that reflect the evolving needs of the drug discovery community. With their support, the organisation will continue to provide delegates, exhibitors and sponsors with valuable opportunities to help drive collaboration and knowledge exchange between academia, and biotech and pharma industry thought-leaders.
ELRIG’s SAB plays a key strategic role in helping ELRIG identify new opportunities to better serve the life science community. Drs Sanganee and Schindler join SAB Chair, Del Trezise, and fellow members: Mel Leveridge, Saleha Patel, Chas Bountra, Cathy Tralau-Stewart and Steve Rees. Together, they will support with horizon scanning to select the most impactful scientific themes, attract renowned speakers and recommend future event locations, while ensuring conferences and forums remain free to attend and community driven.
Dr Hitesh Sanganee is a strategic drug discovery executive and a Venture Partner at Octopus Ventures as well as an independent consultant, supporting biotech and healthtech founders. With over two decades of R&D experience, he has delivered multiple drug candidates and new therapeutic modalities into clinical development. Previously, Dr Sanganee served as Executive Director and Global Head of Emerging Innovations at AstraZeneca, where he led open innovation, drug repositioning and external collaboration. Named among Asia Tech’s Top 100 Innovators, he is a recognised leader in science, technology and venture investing. He holds a DPhil and BA in Chemistry from the University of Oxford and an MBA from the University of Cambridge.
Dr Marcus Schindler was previously Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President for Research and Early Development at Novo Nordisk, where he led a global team of over 2,600 scientists, overseeing a portfolio of more than 100 drug discovery projects and 60+ strategic partnerships. Over the last 30 years he held increasingly senior roles in drug discovery across pharma and biotech, including AstraZeneca, (OSI) Prosidion, Boehringer Ingelheim and GSK, after obtaining a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Cambridge. He currently serves as a scientific and strategic advisor to AI and biotech companies, including Causaly and Cradle.bio.
Dr Del Trezise, Chair of ELRIG, said: “On behalf of ELRIG's Scientific Advisory Board, I am delighted to welcome Dr Marcus Schindler and Dr Hitesh Sanganee as our newest members. Their combined depth of scientific expertise and industry experience is an outstanding addition to the Board — I have no doubt their insights and networks will help shape ELRIG's continued mission to support and connect the life science research community. We look forward to working with them both and benefiting from their contributions in the months and years ahead.”
Dr Hitesh Sanganee, SAB Member, ELRIG, commented: “ELRIG is a truly open, community-driven organisation for life scientists, that brings together established leaders and early career researchers across disciplines, creating space for the conversations and collaborations that move drug discovery forward. Joining the Scientific Advisory Board is a great opportunity to help curate the cutting edge science and technology that will define the next decade of drug discovery. ELRIG’s conferences and networks give scientists, innovators and entrepreneurs a unique platform to explore new modalities, tools and data-driven approaches together, and I’m excited to support that journey.”
Dr Marcus Schindler, SAB Member, ELRIG, added: “Having spent 30 years in drug discovery, I've seen first-hand how critical strong ecosystems between academia, biotech, and industry are to translating scientific ideas into novel therapeutics. ELRIG's role in connecting these communities and championing open, collaborative science is exactly the kind of approach our field needs. I look forward to contributing my experience in scientific strategy, innovation-ecosystem building, and R&D leadership to help shape ELRIG's future programmes and support the next generation of drug discovery scientists.”
For further information about ELRIG’s SAB, please visit: https://elrig.org/the-team/
