About Us

Apinovo’s vision is to catalyze a renaissance in API synthesis and manufacturing

World-class team of corporate executives, research chemists, and scientific advisors

Executive Leadership

Rashmi Barbhaiya, PhD, CEO
  • Former VP BMS; President R&D Ranbaxy, Co-founder and CEO Advinus; Serial entrepreneur
  • SAB, GARDP – Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership; Scientific Advisory Committee of DNDi, a Geneva, Switzerland based organization focusing on neglected diseases; Chair, Advisory Council, Institute for Life Science Entrepreneurship
  • Track record of building multiple strategic R&D partnerships with large pharma such as Takeda, Merck, Novartis, J&J and Celgene
Mukund Chorghade, PhD, CSO
  • Former VP Genzyme; CSO, THINQ; Chicago Discovery, Empiriko, AGN Biofuels
  • Research/Visiting Professor at Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Rutgers, Cambridge, Strathclyde, Univ. of Illinois
  • Elected Fellow of ACS, AAAS, RSC, IUPAC
  • Won three “Scientist of the Year Awards” in different companies
Thomas Richardson, PhD, COO
  • R&D and BD Momenta Pharmaceuticals (JNJ), Medarex (BMS), and President ILSE;
  • Extensive experience in licensing, BD and entrepreneurship
  • Current President, Institute for Life Science Entrepreneurship; President & CEO, Plumeria Therapeutics Inc.

Scientific Advisory Board

Joseph Fortunak, PhD
  • Professor of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Howard University, Washington D.C.
  • Contributed to the launch of 15 new drugs and 25+ new generic products with total sales of over $200 billion
  • Received numerous awards including the American Chemical Society “Heroes of Chemistry”, and a US FDA Honor Award for Excellence and Innovation in Africa
  • Has over 100 publications and 40+ patent applications
Steven Ley, PhD
  • BP 1702 Professor of Chemistry, University of Cambridge; Head of Department in 1989
  • Elected to the Royal Society (London) in 1990, President of The Royal Society of Chemistry from 2000-2002
  • Consultant and advisor to many companies, including Pfizer, Merck, and Syngenta
Robert H. Grubbs, PhD,
Nobel Laureate, Chemistry 2005
  • Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology; Inventor of Grubbs Catalyst™ technology; Research on complexes that catalyze basic organic transformations (major focus on the olefin metathesis reaction)
  • A founder, director or advisor to numerous technology companies, including Cyrano Sciences, Coelacanth, Pharmacopeia, Insert Therapeutics, Calhoun Vision and
    Symyx Technologies