At 353 awards totaling $179 million in fiscal 2023, UMass Chan receives more National Institutes of Health funding for medical research than all other Central Massachusetts institutions combined, and that’s just a portion of the research funding flowing through the medical school. Leading those innovation and business development efforts for the $1-billion institution is Parth Chakrabarti, who has done so since 2020.
Formerly an executive with top biopharmaceutical companies such as Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi Genzyme, and Johnson & Johnson, Parth Chakrabarti has dedicated his life to developing and bringing to market therapies for multiple diseases in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Managing $322 million in federal and private research grants and contracts in fiscal 2023 at UMass Chan, his formidable experience helps him identify the best opportunities to bring clinical-stage technology to market.
Chakrabarti has experience across the biopharmaceutical development spectrum, from academia to venture capital firms to Fortune 500 companies. Harnessing that experience has helped him find the best partners to bring to market the work of UMass Chan researchers through its BRIDGE Innovation & Business Development program, the hub of all UMass Chan commercialization efforts.
In the last 12 months, Chakrabarti and his team have launched Alys Pharmaceuticals, funded by a venture capital firm and with technology licensed by BRIDGE; helped UMass Chan obtain exclusive global rights for groundbreaking gene therapy technology developed at the university to treat vision-related conditions; and signed a $2-million agreement with a South Korean pharmaceutical company to pursue gene therapy for inflammatory diseases. Another $2 million was invested in 13 faculty-led projects potentially leading to more commercialized treatments.
