Davidson School of Chemical Engineering alumnus, Pankaj Doshi, has been recognized with Pfizer’s Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award. This prestigious recognition highlights Doshi’s exceptional contributions to the field of engineering and his pivotal role in advancing drug product development at Pfizer.

Doshi earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue in 2002, building on his earlier academic accomplishments with a B.Tech (1994) and M.Tech (1997) in Chemical Engineering from IIT Bombay. His distinguished career spans roles at prominent institutions such as MIT, GSK, and the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune.

Currently serving as the Head of Predictive Science at Pfizer, Doshi has been instrumental in applying advanced computational modeling and machine learning techniques to accelerate drug product development. His work impacts the entire drug development process, from dosage form design through to regulatory filing and approval.

Among his notable accomplishments, Doshi led the computational modeling team on Pfizer’s Nirmatrelvir Co-Development Team. Under his guidance, state-of-the-art predictive computational and machine-learning models were implemented across critical unit operations, including blending (Discrete Element Method), dry granulation (hybrid mechanistic and machine learning), compression (finite element analysis and hybrid data-driven models), and film coating (thermodynamic and computational fluid dynamics). These innovations significantly reduced risks in process development and scale-up, playing a crucial role in the regulatory filing of Paxlovid™.

Additionally, Doshi’s technical leadership spearheaded the creation of a computational design platform for Pfizer’s Continuous Manufacturing Module technology. This platform has revolutionized the design and development of continuous drug product processes and has been successfully applied to commercial products such as Daurismo™ and Cibinqo™. It is now being expanded to support several late-stage wet granulation programs.

Beyond these technical achievements, Doshi’s leadership has driven the digitalization of drug product process design and development at Pfizer, setting new standards for future drug product programs and delivering substantial value to the pharmaceutical industry. His work exemplifies the impact of Purdue alumni in shaping innovative solutions for global challenges.