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About Us
NJ Bio, Inc. (formerly NJ Biopharmaceuticals LLC d/b/a NJ Bio) is a leading Contract Research Organization (CRO)/ Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) headquartered in Princeton, NJ, with additional chemistry facilities in Bristol, PA and Mumbai, India. Our focus is on providing integrated chemistry and biology services to companies in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors. We offer an extensive range of services built on our expertise in bioconjugation, synthetic organic chemistry, and protein-based biopharmaceuticals. NJ Bio’s Core Service Areas include:
Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) and Bioconjugation: Expertise in bioconjugation to proteins and biomaterials, express bioconjugation, innovative linker chemistry design for conjugations, novel payload-linker technology, ADC construct development, process development for both small molecules and ADCs.
Protein and Antibody Production: High-quality production of research-grade proteins and antibodies, targeted protein degrader optimization, target protein degrader conjugates.
Cell-Based Functional Assays: Expertise in performing various functional assays, including 2D & 3D cytotoxicity, ADCC (antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity), ELISA, ADC stability, and pharmacokinetic (PK) analysis.
Nucleotide and Oligonucleotide Synthesis: Precise creation of nucleotides and DNA molecules for research and therapeutic development, custom oligos, modifications, conjugation, and purification.
mRNA synthesis: High-quality, IVT mRNA sequence synthesis and incorporation of modified nucleotides.
Bioanalytical services: State-of-the-art instrumentation, team of skilled analysts, broad range of services, including in vitro metabolic stability assay using LC-MS, rapid PK analysis, ligand binding assays and LBA-LC-MS Hybrid Approach.
These services expand our capacity to offer customized solutions, enhancing our dedication to excellence for clients in the biotech and pharma sectors.
COMPANY MISSION
NJ Bio’s mission is to be a beacon of excellence in contract research, development and manufacturing, by providing cutting-edge biopharmaceutical and advanced chemistry services. We strive to establish long-lasting collaborations with our clients by consistently empowering them to accelerate their product development projects. Our top priority is to offer efficient, cost-effective, and timely solutions that cater to our clients’ varying needs, thereby delivering exceptional value. Our dedication to teamwork, confidentiality, and reliability drives us forward, and we continuously innovate to overcome complex research, development and manufacturing challenges. Customer satisfaction is the heart of our mission.
OUR PEOPLE AND CULTURE
At NJ Bio, our people and culture are the driving forces behind our success, ensuring that we consistently provide cutting-edge solutions to our clients while maintaining the highest standards of quality, efficiency, and adaptability. We are proud to have a team of highly talented and experienced laboratory chemists and biologists who are driven by their unwavering passion for science, resulting in innovative, client-focused solutions. This deep dedication to their work sets us apart, resulting in the creation of unique and tailored programs that address our clients’ needs with excellence. Above all, our scientists are committed to delivering high-quality services in a cost-effective and timely manner.
Our corporate culture is built on the principles of collaboration, communication, and adaptability. We understand the significance of working together as a cohesive unit to achieve remarkable results. Our work culture fosters a dynamic exchange of ideas and insights, leading to creative problem-solving and breakthroughs.
Our Team
Nareshkumar Jain, Ph.D. – Chief Executive Officer and Board Member
Dr. Jain is CEO and Member of the Board at NJ Bio. He is also a member of Robin Hood Ventures, a leading Mid-Atlantic investment group. Prior to founding NJ Bio in 2018, Naresh served as Global Head of Chemistry and Senior Vice-President of ADC Biomanufacturing at Abzena. In 2009, he founded the chemistry based CRO, The Chemistry Research Solution LLC (TCRS), and served for six years as Managing Director of the company until its acquisition by Abzena in late 2015. Naresh has over ten years of medicinal chemistry experience at Johnson and Johnson, where he worked on advancing new drug molecules from early lead to lead optimization and clinical trials. He has co-authored over 60 publications, patents, and book chapters. Among his notable achievements are the total syntheses of complex natural products including the antibiotics vancomycin and rutamycin. Naresh received his Ph.D. from Boston University with Prof. James Panek and was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California with Prof. K.C. Nicolaou. Naresh received extensive leadership training through the Advanced Management Program at The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania.
Julien Dugal-Tessier, Ph.D. – Chief Scientific Officer and President
Dr. Julien Dugal-Tessier joined as Director and is now CSO and President. Julien has over 10 years of Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) research experience. In his successful ADC research career at ImmunoGen, Agensys/ Astellas and NJ Bio, Julien focused on the design of novel payloads and linkers. At ImmunoGen, he studied potent DNA damaging agents with the goal of increasing their therapeutic index. Prior to ImmunoGen at Agensys (a former affiliate of Astellas), Julien worked on a variety of different payloads and linkers which led to four product candidates, one of which (AGS62P1) is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial. Julien was also involved in the discovery-to-scale-up activities of ADC payloads and linkers as well as in chemistry activities supporting later stage programs such as the commercially approved ADC, Enfortumab Vedotin. Julien obtained his Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia in a joint project between Profs. Gregory Dake and Derek Gates on the development of metal catalysis for organic synthesis. After his Ph.D., Julien studied N-heterocyclic carbene catalysis and its application towards a total synthesis during his post-doctoral fellowship at Northwestern University with Prof. Karl Scheidt.
Ralf Mueller, Ph.D. – Chief Business Officer
Dr. Mueller is NJ Bio’s Chief Business Officer, and his responsibilities include the company’s overall business development, proposal management, and marketing activities. Ralf has more than twenty years of experience working for chemistry and biopharmaceutical CROs and CDMOs, covering the fields of business development, custom synthesis, process development and cGMP manufacturing. His previous positions include Senior Executive Director of Business Management with NJ Bio, Senior Director of Business Development with Abzena, Senior VP of Chemistry & Business Development with The Chemistry Research Solution LLC as well as Director of Chemistry with Alchem Laboratories Corporation. Ralf received his doctor title in organic chemistry from the University of Freiburg, Germany, and then worked as Postdoctoral Associate with Prof. Raymond Bergeron at the University of Florida on the synthesis of a “Hypusine reagent” and polyamine analogues. He has co-authored 15 research articles on potential drugs against cancer (i.e., polyamine antiproliferatives), dyslipidemia (i.e., long hydrocarbon chain acids and diols, related to bempedoic acid), and other topics.
Priya Nayak, Ph.D. – Chief Operating Officer and Board Member
Priyashri (Priya) Nayak is the Chief Operating Officer and a Board Member at NJ Bio, Inc. Priya was an angel investor with Robin Hood Ventures and has supported investment in family-owned entrepreneurship companies and sports clubs. Priya has 23 years of broad experience in global consumer healthcare companies including Glaxo SmithKline, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, and Prestige Labs, as well as with a start-up company, The Chemistry Research Solution (acquired by Abzena). She has led technical teams that successfully developed and commercialized global products for brands such as Aleve PM®, Bayer® Aspirin®, Aspirin® plus C, Alka-Seltzer®, Benadryl®, Sudafed® Listerine®, Bengay®, Tums®, and Citrucel®, contributing to over a billion dollars in sales. Priya received her Ph.D. in Industrial Pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Allied Health Sciences, Boston, and a Masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University Department of Chemical Technology (now ICT), Mumbai.
Megan San Juan – Vice-President, Quality Operations
Megan San Juan joined NJ Bio as the Vice-President of Quality Operations in January 2024. With over 25 years of hands-on experience in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry, Megan has provided regulatory quality and compliance oversight into clinical and commercial manufacturing operations. Megan began her pharmaceutical career in 1994 as an Analyst in the Chemistry laboratory and retired from Pfizer Inc., in August 2022 after serving in various quality and compliance roles at both site and corporate levels.
Megan has made significant contributions as the quality leader of five biopharmaceutical manufacturing sites, overseeing the production of aseptic and non-aseptic human and animal drugs, vaccines, gene therapy, and combination products. Additionally, she has led a team of Contract Quality Leaders responsible for quality and compliance activities at contract manufacturers, packagers, and service providers in North America and the European Union. Megan has a proven track record of delivering on commitments and achieving high performance.
Megan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of San Carlos in Cebu City, Philippines, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Manufacturing Technology and Business Quality Management from Southwestern College in Winfield, KS. She is also a US Army veteran and serves as a mentor for American Corporate Partners (ACP), the only nonprofit organization focused on national corporate career counseling for returning veterans and active-duty military spouses. ACP aims to facilitate the transition from the military to the civilian workforce by connecting veterans and military spouses with corporate professionals for customized mentorship. Megan is dedicated to supporting individuals in their pursuit of fulfilling, long-term careers. In addition to her professional pursuits, Megan is an avid gardener and runs an industry consulting firm and a coffee business.
David Fry, Ph.D. – Senior Distinguished Research Leader
Dr. Fry joined NJ Bio as Distinguished Research Leader in early 2019. David has expertise in NMR analysis of proteins, peptides, and small molecules; structure elucidation and confirmation by NMR; protein analysis; ligand-binding studies by NMR; and 2D and 3D multinuclear NMR experiments. Prior to joining NJ Bio, he served for three years as Vice-President of Protein Chemistry at The Chemistry Research Solution LLC. David has 27 years of drug discovery experience as Head of Structural Chemistry at Hoffmann-La Roche and is a globally recognized expert in the use of NMR to discover small molecule drugs for protein-protein interaction (PPI) targets. David’s research highlights include pioneering work on Interleukin-2 inhibitors, the Ras-binding domain of c-Raf, design of a PYY peptidomimetic (clinical candidate), and an essential role in the discovery of the Nutlin series of MDM2-p53 inhibitors. He has directed numerous initiatives including fragment-based lead discovery and the building of PPI-targeted screening libraries. David has co-authored over 50 publications.
Seungyong Sean Choi, Ph.D. – Vice-President, R&D and Process Chemistry
Sean Choi joined NJ Bio, Inc., as the Head of Process R&D Chemistry in October 2021. He has over 25 years of experience in planning and managing research activities of CROs and leading research teams in the rapid process development of payload-linker chemistry, biologically active cytotoxins for final target synthesis, and technical transfer to a kg-lab and pilot plant scale (cGMP). He successfully led drug discovery programs for clients and developed multiple commercialized products. Sean is also a co-author in over 30 peer-reviewed journals and patents. Prior to joining NJ Biopharmaceuticals, he worked as the Director of Chemistry of Abzena and as Principal Scientist at The Chemistry Research Solution (TCRS), where he focused on the design and synthesis of payloads, linkers, and High-Potent APIs in ADCs to support clinical trials and cGMP projects. Prior to TCRS, he held a variety of leadership roles in extensive hands-on medicinal chemistry programs and manufactured small molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) at New England Drug Discovery Partner and PharmaCore (currently, Cambrex in NC). Sean received his Ph.D. from Wayne State University in 1994 with Professor M. E. Newcomb, after which Sean joined the team of Nobel Laurate in Chemistry, the late Professor Sir Derek H.R. Barton of Texas A&M University as a post-doctoral research fellow.
Bhaskar Kusuma, Ph.D. – Vice-President, Analytical R&D and Quality Control
Bhaskar Kusuma joined NJ Bio, Inc. as Principal Scientist in Analytical Development and is currently Vice President, Analytical R&D and Quality Control. Bhaskar has over 10 years of extensive experience in the field of analytical method development, method optimization, and phase appropriate method validation for characterization of small molecules, peptides, proteins, oligonucleotides, antibodies, and Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs). Before joining NJ Bio, Bhaskar worked in the Analytical Method Development group at SciGen Pharmaceuticals, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, and Ajinomoto Biopharmaceuticals. He obtained his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology on the development of novel synthetic methodologies and formal synthetic methodologies and formal total synthesis of bafilomycin A1. After his Ph.D., Bhaskar was a post-doctoral fellow at University of British Columbia & University of Kansas in medicinal chemistry. At Kansas University, he worked on design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of HSP90 inhibitors to target multiple cancer and developed a novel HSP90 c-terminal inhibitor as a potential candidate for treating Alzheimer’s and Parkinson disease; currently this molecule is in Phase 2 clinical.
Arpit Pokharna, ACA, CS – Vice President, Finance
Arpit Pokharna is the Vice President of Finance at NJ Bio. He is an experienced finance professional and provides financial guidance and related executive support to NJ Bio’s administrative operations. He is also the Non-Executive Director at NJBIO India, providing strategic guidance to the team. Arpit has more than eight years of experience as a finance professional with diversified global exposure in industries including Downstream Petrochemicals & Construction Chemicals and Banking and Financial Services. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in business management from Narsee Monjee College of Commerce & Economics, Mumbai. He is certified as a Chartered Accountant (ICAI), Company Secretary (ICSI) and holds a post-graduation certification in finance from the Indian Institute of Management, Indore (IIM-I).
Thomas Markotan, M.S. – Head of Research Operations & EHS
Tom joined NJ Bio’s chemistry team as a Senior Research Fellow and is currently the Head of Research Operations & EHS. He is an organic chemist with twenty-five years of industrial research experience as well as several years of academic research experience.
Tom is an expert in planning and conducting multi-step organic syntheses and has spent eleven years working on the design and synthesis of payload-linkers for ADCs, one of which is currently advancing into clinical trials.
Prior to joining NJ Bio, Tom held R&D positions with Abzena and The Chemistry Research Solution (TCRS) as Associate Director of Chemistry and Principal Scientist, respectively, after working many years for Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical R&D and 3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals, where he was part of a team that put two potent, orally active thrombin (FIIa) inhibitors into clinical trials. Tom earned an M.S. degree in Organic Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh and is a co-inventor on 44 U.S. and World patents and co-author of nine peer-reviewed journal publications.
Board Members
Vivek Sharma
Vivek Sharma is the Executive Chairman of Suven Pharmaceuticals and oversees the company’s overall business operations, driving growth and strategic direction. With over 25 years of experience in the life sciences and financial industries, Vivek brings a unique blend of expertise in pharmaceutical services, data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Vivek’s extensive knowledge of the CDMO sector is reflected in his previous leadership roles, including his tenure as CEO of Piramal Pharma Solutions and Chairman and CEO of Adare Pharma Solutions. He also served as CEO of Decision Resources Group, a leader in healthcare analytics, and most recently, as CEO of Saama, an AI-driven clinical analytics company. In recognition of his significant contributions to the pharmaceutical industry, Vivek was honored as the ‘Global CEO of the Year’ by the CPhI Pharma Awards in 2015.
Vivek holds an Executive MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and is a Chartered and Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Beyond his professional accomplishments, Vivek is passionate about philanthropy, actively supporting causes focused on women’s empowerment, social and educational advocacy, and environmental sustainability. Since 2019, he has been a board member of CEM and continues to serve on the boards of several biotech and technology startups.
Atin Jain
Atin is a Director at Advent International and covers Technology Investments across US & India as well as Healthcare Investments in India. He joined Advent in 2019 from Bain Capital, where he spent over five years working across Technology and Healthcare investments. Prior to that, he worked at Bain & Company (Consulting) and Accenture (Technology).
Atin has worked on numerous investments during his time at Advent and Bain Capital, including Encora, Tredence, Brillio, Quest Global, Bharat Serums and Vaccines, Cohance Lifesciences, Suven Pharma and Apollo 24|7, amongst others. He currently serves on the Boards of Encora, Tredence, and Sapala Organics. Atin holds an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and M. Sc. in International Management from Bocconi University, Italy.
Sudhir Kumar Singh, Ph.D.
Dr. Sudhir Kumar Singh is the Chief Executive Officer of Suven Pharmaceuticals. His academic background includes a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the Central Drug Research Institute – one of India’s premier research organizations, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship in the USA. Dr. Singh was also a faculty member at Rutgers University, New Jersey, with over three decades of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. He served as the Chief Operating Officer at Aragen Life Sciences Ltd. for a decade and led a team of over 2,000 scientists at one of India’s largest CRDMOs before taking over as CEO of Suven Pharma
With a strong background in drug discovery and development, evidenced by significant research contributions and patented innovations, Dr. Singh has been instrumental in advancing drug development efforts within the industry.