Meet our Team

Director - HR, Admin & Finance

Rushang has a proven track record over the past 11 Years in the pharmaceutical Industry where he gained experience in manufacturing, Admin, HR and Finance.

Rushang holds a university degree in Civil Engineering from Gujarat Technological University.

General Manager - Drug Discovery

Laxmikant Chhipa has 26 years of industrial research experience in drug discovery and development, with a strong focus on identifying and developing novel small molecules as drug candidates for treating various human diseases.

As an experienced medicinal and organic chemist, he has demonstrated expertise in designing, synthesizing, and characterizing small molecules targeting diverse biological pathways across multiple therapeutic areas. Some of the drug candidates he has identified have progressed to advanced clinical stages.

In addition to drug discovery, he possesses deep expertise in process development and scale-up, ensuring the seamless transition of promising small molecules from research to advanced clinical stage. He is the inventor of two clinical candidates and holds patents for his innovations. His research contributions are further recognized through published scientific papers in the field of drug discovery and development.

General Manager - Pharmacovigilance and Medical Affairs

Dr. Hardik Bhatt is a skilled and committed professional with a wealth of experience in the pharmaceutical industry.

With a strong background in drug product life cycle management, Dr. Bhatt has expertise in various areas such as drug discovery, pre-clinical and clinical trials, medical and regulatory writing, risk management, and pharmacovigilance. Dr. Bhatt's technical skills include using Artificial Intelligence-based models for toxicity prediction, pharmacodynamics, and ADME, as well as analyzing complex data to improve pharmacovigilance and clinical trials' efficiency. Demonstrating strong work ethics, Dr. Bhatt is committed to achieving successful outcomes every time. Skilled in regulatory strategy development, Dr. Bhatt has worked in pharmaceuticals specialized in Oncology, Diabetes, Immunology, Respiratory, and other crucial disease management. Dr. Bhatt's delivery of regulatory compliance, regulatory strategy development, and risk-mitigation strategies to maximize drug efficiency and minimizing the toxicities makes him an expert in the pharmaceutical domain.

Senior Manager – Synthesis & Analytical

Dr Hitesh Sharma is an experienced synthetic chemist with more than 26 years of experience in research and development, product and process development, yield optimisation and impurity profiling.

Dr Sharma holds a doctorate in synthetic organic chemistry. In his earlier role, Dr Sharma has worked as department head, principal scientist and Sr Manager at different pharmaceutical firms. He holds keen expertise in API process development and Scale-up. At Topia, he is currently leading a team of synthetic chemists.

Manager - AI Project

Debanjan Parbat is an experienced researcher in the higher education industry with a focus on exploring IoT and AI in healthcare technology.

With expertise in Python, Sensors, and Bluetooth low energy as well as familiarity with various software like MATLAB, Origin, and Microsoft Office, Mr. Parbat is skilled in the development of wearable medical devices. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Biomedical Instrumentation, he is specializing in Nonlinear Time Series Analysis techniques on Cognitive Neuro-dynamics, Cardiovascular dynamics, and Muscle control dynamics for applications in medical device and computer-aided diagnosis using AI and ML. Mr. Parbat has worked at Jadavpur University as a Senior Research Fellow for five years, where he contributed to various research projects related to medical technology. Debanjan has more than 10 research paper publications in international peer reviewed journals and conferences and strong research experience in the field of Medical Devices and Biomedical Signal Processing with extended focus on Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things. Debajan is a Professional Member of IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Mr. Parbat's knowledge of IoT and AI in medical technology makes him a valuable contributor to the industry.

Manager-AI, Drug Discovery

Dr. Pushpendra Singh Sisodia overseas the Drug Discovery and MedTech platform in his role as Manager at Topia Life Sciences.

He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science Engineering, specializing in the applications of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare. With over 18 years of professional experience across industry, academia, and research, he demonstrates expertise in applying Artificial Intelligence algorithms within the multidisciplinary realm of healthcare.

Dr. Pushpendra boasts nineteen publications in reputable SCI Q1/Q2/Q3 and Scopus-indexed international journals and conference proceedings. In 2022, he served as a mentor for undergraduate students in the Smart India Hackathon-2022, where his team secured the first prize awarded by the Government of India. He also guided another undergraduate team in the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Hackathon-2022, organized by SSIP, Government of Gujarat, which also won first prize from the Government of India. Previously, Dr. Pushpendra held the position of Associate Professor in the Computer Engineering Department at Indus University.

Manager - Pre-Clinical Drug Discovery and Medical Affairs

Hardik is a preclinical drug development professional with over 12 years of experience. His expertise includes managing nonclinical drug development through safety, efficacy, and ADME evaluations of small molecules, while ensuring regulatory compliance.

He also has extensive experience in overseeing outsourced studies both within and outside India, ensuring effective study monitoring and alignment with project goals. Previously an OECD GLP study director, Hardik successfully conducted preclinical studies in rodent and non-rodent models for various therapeutic areas. He has experience authoring regulatory modules for preclinical and clinical studies, supporting submissions to USFDA, EMA, PMDA, CDSCO, and other global regulatory agencies.

Under his leadership, preclinical development is actively progressing in oncology, neurodegenerative diseases, and other therapeutic research areas. Hardik remains engaged in innovative approaches such as drug repurposing and AI-driven discovery, contributing to efficient therapeutic advancements. He holds a Master of Pharmacy (Pharmacology) from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, India.

Assistant Manager - Analytical

Mr Shriram Baheti is a master’s in analytical chemistry. Mr Baheti brings 11 years of expertise in analysing small molecules.

He has earlier worked with well-known pharmaceutical industries in the analytical department. He is an expert in handling the instruments like HPLC, UPLC, UPHPLC, LCMS and IR. He has previously worked with the analysis of new chemical entities (NCE). He is well-versed in the planning and execution of analytical activities, including operation, calibration, troubleshooting and safety-related operations.

Chief Business Officer

Irene Pereira is an experienced life sciences executive with deep expertise in business development, strategic partnerships, and commercialisation across biopharma and biotech sectors. In her role as Chief Business Officer at Topia Life Sciences, Irene leads the company’s business strategy by driving licensing, partnership formation, and strategic pipeline development that accelerate healthcare solutions that address unmet global health needs.

With a strong scientific foundation and a PhD in immunology and cell signalling at a Max-Planck Institute, Irene combines scientific insight with commercial acumen to bridge research innovation and business value. Her career spans executing research and licensing collaborations, negotiating complex deals, and managing alliances that unlock value for both organisations.

Chief Scientific Officer

With 20 Years experience in Scientific & Strategic Leadership in UK & Global Life Science, Aurore joined Topia Life Sciences as Chief Scientific Officer in January 2026. Her expertise primarily focus on Drug Discovery and the delivery of novel drugs to the Clinics for high unmet medical needs across multiple Therapeutic Areas (Oncology, I&I, CNS, CardioMetabolic, Rare Disease).

Experienced drug hunter, Aurore started her Pharmacology career in Cancer Research Horizons, spanning from Oncology project leadership to lab automation and HTS/Compound Management specialist. Advancing assets to Clinical stage, such as the Autotaxin Program currently completing Phase I for PDAC indication.

In 2021, Aurore joined Exscientia, TechBio leader spearheading the transformation of small molecule Drug Discovery with application of AI/ML Technologies. As Head of Scientific Business Operations, she led strategic commercial partnerships with global Pharma generating triple digits USD revenue in upfront payment & milestones supporting Exscientia’s expansion. Passionate about the transformative impact of TechBio , Aurore is now engineering Portfolio strategy, drug Pipeline delivery and Tech-led Operations at Topia LifeSciences (UK & India).