ABOUT OUR FOUNDER
Pinaki R. Majhi, Ph.D. Email: pmajhi@unicuspharma.com Office: (508) 659-7002 Mobile: (415)-260-4096 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pinakimajhi/ Dr. Pinaki Majhi founded Unicus Pharmaceuticals in May 2017. Dr. Majhi is a highly experienced product development professional with strong background in pharmaceutical and colloid chemistry (23+ years of combined research and product development experience in US, Germany, and India). He has expertise in product development (concept-to-launch) including pre-formulation, formulation design & optimization, and scale-up of topical, oral, ophthalmic, and personal care products. He is skilled in formulation and characterization of semi-solid, suspension, and liquid dosage forms and designing novel drug delivery/platform technologies. Dr. Majhi was involved with 120+ product development, reformulation, scale-up or manufacturing projects related to personal skincare, Rx/OTC topical (dermatological, optic, and ophthalmic), Rx/OTC oral liquid (e.g. cold & cough products), oral liquid supplements, and other products. Prior to Unicus Pharmaceuticals, Pinaki held R&D & Technical Operations positions for several pharmaceutical and personal care companies including Denison Pharmaceuticals, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, PreCision Dermatology, Valeant Pharmaceuticals NA, Dow Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Assam Company Limited. At Denison Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Majhi has been instrumental in founding new R&D Division and CRO business and converting Denison from CMO to CDMO (Contract Development Manufacturing Organization). Dr. Majhi holds a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry (Colloids, Pharmaceuticals) from Jadavpur University (India) and received postdoctoral training on lipid (vesicles), protein and nucleic acid chemistry from several universities in Germany and USA including Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (Germany), Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and University of California San Francisco. He has published 65+ publications (including research articles, patents, conference abstracts, and a book chapter) so far. Scientific Advisors:
Arijit Bose, Ph.D. Mobile: (781)-424-6612 Web: https://web.uri.edu/cheme/abose/ Dr. Arijit Bose is Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Rhode Island (URI). His current research encompasses colloidal and interfacial engineering, with specific efforts in nanostructured materials synthesis and characterization for lithium ion battery anodes, advanced applications (biological and non-biological) for cryogenic transmission and scanning electron microscopy, and particle-stabilized emulsions. Prof. Bose has 120 peer-reviewed publications, and holds 8 US patents. He has been presented twice with the URI College of Engineering’s Vincent and Estelle Murphy Award for outstanding research, and URI’s intellectual property award. He was an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions in Nanotechnology form 2003-2008, and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Surface Science and Technology. Professor Bose served as Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at University of Rhode Island from 2004-2009. He has been a Visiting Scientist at MIT (1989; 1995-96), a Visiting Senior Scientist/ Visiting Fellow at Cabot Corporation (2002-2004; 2009-2010) and a Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley (2017). Professor Bose has a B. Tech. in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester. Consultants: Nelson Ayala, Ph.D., MBA Mobile: (434)-401-9418 Web: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelson-ayala-6a69a41 Dr. Nelson Ayala joined Unicus Pharmaceuticals in May 2018 as a consultant. Dr. Ayala is a highly experienced product development professional with a strong background in OTC drug products and surfactant chemistry. He has 30 years of combined research and product development experience in the domestic personal care market. He has expertise in pre-formulation, formulation design & optimization, and scale-up of personal care products for gastrointestinal, feminine hygiene and diaper rash. He is skilled in formulation and characterization of creams, gels, lotions, ointments, suspensions, sticks, syrups, suppositories, tablets, roll-ons, aerosols, wet wipes, and liquid dosage forms such as douches, enemas, and phospho-soda. He has designed novel drug delivery/platform technologies working with external vendors. He has carried out studies on skin treated with washes, sprays, wipes, and depilatories. He is skilled in the use of odor control technologies in feminine hygiene products, skilled in taste masking of oral products, skilled in the use of probiotics and prebiotics in personal care products, and skilled in the solubilization of hard to dissolve drugs in stable emulsions. Prior to joining Unicus Pharmeuticals, Dr. Ayala was a Principal Scientist working at C. B. Fleet Labs in Lynchburg, Virginia on projects relating to feminine hygiene, class II medical devices, and OTC gastrointestinal drugs. Prior to Fleet, Nelson was a project scientist at Carter Wallace, where he worked to develop new technology for antiperspirants and depilatories. At Westwood, Nelson worked as a research chemist to develop new technologies for antiperspirant raw materials. Nelson worked as an analytical chemist at Unilever Research Center. Dr. Ayala holds a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from the University of Virginia and received a MBA from the University of Lynchburg. Nelson has a M.S. in inorganic chemistry from Stony Brook and a B.S. from Brooklyn College, CUNY. He has published 10+ publications (including research articles and conference abstracts). He has authored/coauthored 11 patents (9 published, 2 patents pending). Interested in joining our team, please check out here |