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IIT Bombay alumnus, Dr.. Pankaj Doshi, has been recognized with Pfizer’s Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award. This prestigious accolade highlights his exceptional contributions to engineering and his pivotal role in advancing drug product development at Pfizer.

Mr. Doshi, who earned a B.Tech (1994) and M.Tech (1997) in Chemical Engineering from IIT Bombay, furthered his academic pursuits with a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University in 2002. His distinguished career includes roles at renowned institutions such as MIT, GSK, and the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune.

As the Head of Predictive Science at Pfizer, Mr. Doshi has been instrumental in developing and applying advanced computational modelling and machine learning techniques to accelerate drug product development. His work spans the entire drug development process, from dosage form design through to regulatory filing and approval.

One of the notable achievements in his career at Pfizer includes leading the computational modelling team on the Nirmatrelvir Co-Development Team. Under his guidance, state-of-the-art predictive computational and machine-learning models were deployed across various unit operations including blending (Discrete Element Method), dry granulation (hybrid mechanistic and machine learning), compression (finite element analysis and hybrid data-driven) and film coating (thermodynamic and computational fluid dynamics) unit operations. These models significantly reduced risks in process development and scale-up and were crucial to the regulatory filing of Paxlovid™.

Furthermore, Mr. Doshi’s technical leadership led to the creation of a computational design platform for Pfizer’s Continuous Manufacturing Module technology. This platform has transformed the design and development of continuous drug product processes and has been successfully applied to commercial products such as Daurismo™ and Cibinqo™. It is also currently being expanded to support several late-stage wet granulation programs.

Mr. Doshi’s contributions extend beyond technical achievements; his leadership has driven the digitalization of drug product process design and development at Pfizer. His work sets a high standard for future drug product programs and continues to deliver substantial value to the pharmaceutical industry.

The Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award from Pfizer underscores Mr. Doshi’s dedication, innovation, and leadership. His journey from IIT Bombay to a leading role in pharmaceutical engineering at Pfizer truly exemplifies the exceptional excellence and impact of IIT Bombay’s alumni.