Dr Santosh Kulkarni

Santosh obtained his PhD from the Institute of Chemical Technology (formerly UDCT), Mumbai. He pursued his post-doctoral research at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, where he worked on developing several molecular probes and potential therapeutic agents targeted at neurotransmitter transporters and GPCRs. He later continued his research at the Higuchi Bioscience Centre, University of Kansas, Lawrence, where he developed novel synthetic methodologies for kappa opioid receptor antagonists.

He subsequently transitioned into the biopharmaceutical/CDMO industry, where he has led multiple research projects in research services and integrated drug discovery, working across diverse target classes towards therapeutic innovation. His expertise spans small molecules as well as emerging modalities such as peptides, PROTACs, and drug conjugates (XDCs). He is a co-inventor on more than 40 patents and has authored over 25 research publications. He currently leads the medicinal chemistry vertical at Sai Life Sciences, driving programmes in both standalone research services and integrated discovery portfolios.