Prasanna Kumar, Ph.D.
About Prasanna Kumar, Ph.D.
Prasanna Kumar, Ph.D., is the Senior Director of Clinical Development at BeiGene and Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., with extensive expertise in oncology, immunology, and gene therapy.
Current Positions
Prasanna Kumar, Ph.D., holds senior roles in clinical development at two major pharmaceutical companies. He is currently a Senior Director of Clinical Development at BeiGene in the United States. Concurrently, he serves as Senior Director of Oncology Clinical Development at Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.
Past Positions
Dr. Prasanna Kumar's career includes several key roles in oncology and translational research. At Daiichi Sankyo, he worked as Director of Experimental Medicine (Oncology and Immunology) from 2014 to 2018 in Edison, NJ. Prior to that, he was Associate Director of Experimental Medicine (Oncology) from 2010 to 2014. He also served as Sr. Director of Translational Research (Oncology) at Intrexon Corporation from 2007 to 2009, and as Director of Molecular Therapeutics at RheoGene, Inc. from 2003 to 2007 in Norristown, PA.
Education and Expertise
Dr. Prasanna Kumar earned his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Molecular Biology from the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology. His expertise spans cell and molecular biology, immunology, and gene regulation. He has led the development of cellular and viral vector-based cancer vaccines and has significant experience in viral vector design and production for gene therapy applications.
Research and Development
Dr. Kumar has made substantial contributions to the field of oncology and gene therapy. He led a pre-clinical research group focused on tumor immunotherapy and cell and gene therapy in regenerative medicine. He also developed a gene switch that is currently under human clinical trials and has conducted significant research on host-virus interactions and cytokine signaling in immune cells.