ELRIG, a not-for-profit, volunteer-led organisation dedicated to the global drug discovery community, has appointed Hitesh Sanganee and Marcus Schindler to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).
Their appointments strengthen ELRIG’s scientific leadership and reinforce the organisation’s commitment to delivering relevant, forward-thinking scientific programmes that reflect the evolving needs of the drug discovery community. With their support, the organisation will continue to provide delegates, exhibitors and sponsors with valuable opportunities to help drive collaboration and knowledge exchange between academia, and biotech and pharma industry thought-leaders.
ELRIG’s SAB plays a key strategic role in helping ELRIG identify new opportunities to better serve the life science community. Sanganee and Schindler join SAB Chair, Del Trezise, and fellow members: Mel Leveridge, Saleha Patel, Chas Bountra, Cathy Tralau-Stewart and Steve Rees. Together, they will support with horizon scanning to select the most impactful scientific themes, attract renowned speakers and recommend future event locations, while ensuring conferences and forums remain free to attend and community driven.
Sanganee is a strategic drug discovery executive and a Venture Partner at Octopus Ventures as well as an independent consultant, supporting biotech and healthtech founders. With over two decades of R&D experience, he has delivered multiple drug candidates and new therapeutic modalities into clinical development. Previously, Sanganee served as Executive Director and Global Head of Emerging Innovations at AstraZeneca, where he led open innovation, drug repositioning and external collaboration. Named among Asia Tech’s Top 100 Innovators, he is a recognised leader in science, technology and venture investing.
Schindler was previously Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President for Research and Early Development at Novo Nordisk, where he led a global team of over 2,600 scientists, overseeing a portfolio of more than 100 drug discovery projects and 60+ strategic partnerships. Over the last 30 years he held increasingly senior roles in drug discovery across pharma and biotech, including AstraZeneca, (OSI) Prosidion, Boehringer Ingelheim and GSK. He currently serves as a scientific and strategic advisor to AI and biotech companies, including Causaly and Cradle.bio.
Del Trezise, Chair of ELRIG, said: “Marcus and Hitesh’s combined depth of scientific expertise and industry experience is an outstanding addition to the Board – I have no doubt their insights and networks will help shape ELRIG’s continued mission to support and connect the life science research community.”
Sanganee, SAB Member, ELRIG, commented: “ELRIG is a truly open, community-driven organisation for life scientists, that brings together established leaders and early-career researchers across disciplines, creating space for the conversations and collaborations that move drug discovery forward. Joining the Scientific Advisory Board is a great opportunity to help curate the cutting‑edge science and technology that will define the next decade of drug discovery. ELRIG’s conferences