Dr. Swapan Kumar Jana – Biomolecules – Best Researcher Award

Serum Institute of India, India

Author Profiles

Scopus

Orcid

🎓 Academic Credentials

Dr. Swapan Kumar Jana holds a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering & Technology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata. His doctoral thesis focused on the “Studies on an industrial scale process development of vaccine-grade recombinant Hepatitis B surface Antigen (r-HBsAg) expressed in methylotrophic yeast, Pichia pastoris.” He also earned an M.Tech. in Biochemical Engineering and a B.Tech. in Chemical Technology (Food Technology & Biochemical Engineering) from Jadavpur University. In addition, he completed a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Chemistry with Physics and Mathematics from Calcutta University and obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Operations Management from IGNOU, New Delhi.

👨‍🔬 Professional Experience

Dr. Jana brings over 33 years of rich experience in biopharmaceutical research and development, with deep expertise in vaccines, biologics, and biosimilars, including both microbial and cell culture platforms. He is currently the Director of R&D and Manufacturing at the Serum Institute of India Ltd., Pune, directly reporting to the Executive Director and indirectly to the CEO & CMD. He has previously held pivotal positions at top pharmaceutical and biotech firms. From July 2000 to December 2008, he served as the Principal Scientist & Head – Process Development at Shantha Biotechnics Ltd. (Sanofi group) in Hyderabad. His tenure at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd., Hyderabad, from January 1999 to June 2000, saw him work as a Senior Scientist & Manager in the Process Development – Biotechnology Division. Between October 1993 and December 1998, he contributed significantly at Dr. Reddy’s Research Foundation, Hyderabad, as a Scientist and Senior Scientist, focusing on process development. Earlier in his career, he worked at IIT Delhi (1992–1993) in the Department of Biochemical Engineering & Biotechnology, handling process development in a pilot plant setup.

🧪 Research Projects and Technical Know-How

His M.Tech. thesis was titled: “Enzymatic conversion of Glucose to Fructose using Streptomyces kanamyceticus strain (Immobilized Enzyme Technique – chemical and physical entrapment of enzyme & whole cell)”, and his B.Tech. project explored “Fermentative Production of Penicillin-G.” Dr. Jana has acquired extensive technical expertise, including SDS-PAGE, Western Blot, Silver Staining, ELISA for HBsAg and related proteins, HPLC, RIA, enzyme assays, preservation and stability study of genetically engineered clones, fermentation analysis, in vivo potency testing, polysaccharide estimation, and purification protocols.

🏆 Awards and Honours

Dr. Jana is a recipient of several prestigious honors. He is a National Scholarship holder (Govt. of India), a University Gold Medalist from Jadavpur University, and successfully qualified GATE-1988. He earned JRF and SRF fellowships from DST/DBT, Govt. of India. He received cash awards from Dr. Reddy’s Foundation for developing and launching Lovastatin (Lostatin) and rh-GCSF (Grastim). At Shantha Biotechnics, he was honored with the “Best Scientist & Employee Award” for his exceptional contributions. Notably, he received a Letter of Appreciation and cash award from Mr. Adar C. Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, for his extraordinary leadership in guiding the Pneumococcal R&D and Manufacturing team.

🔬 Expertise & Skills

Dr. Jana has demonstrated excellence in process development, optimization, validation, and technology transfer for vaccines and biosimilars. His core competencies include analytical development, IPQC, clinical development, regulatory affairs, and strategic planning. He is adept at data interpretation, project execution, and problem-solving across various stages of bioprocessing. His ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, manage cross-functional responsibilities, and deliver product development end-to-end is widely recognized.

Notable Publications📝

📝Optimization of fermentation media for the production of higher yield capsular polysaccharide by Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 22F using integrated statistical designs

• Authors: Shital S. Jain, Rajesh Kumar Kante, Vikas K. Singh, Sudarshan Patil, Swapan Kumar Jana, Rajendra H. Patil

• Journal: Carbohydrate Polymers

• Year: 2025

📝Methods for Improving the Adsorption of Polysaccharide-Protein Conjugates and Multivalent Vaccine Formulation Obtained Thereof

• Author: Swapan Kumar Jana

• Journal: New Zealand Patent

• Year: 2024

📝Current trends in development and manufacturing of higher-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine and its challenges

• Authors: Shital S. Jain, Vikas K. Singh, Rajesh Kumar Kante, Swapan Kumar Jana, Rajendra H. Patil

• Journal: Biologicals

• Year: 2024

📝Optimization of Clarification Steps in Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine Manufacturing: Evaluating the Performance of Depth Filters

• Authors: Swapan Kumar Jana, Amol Dattatraya Mahajan

• Journal: BioPharm International

• Year: 2024

📝Methods for Simultaneous Fragmentation and Purification of Bacterial Polysaccharides

• Authors: Swapan Kumar Jana

• Journal: US Patent

• Year: 2023