NanoViricides is pleased to announce that the Company’s Board has appointed Dr. Irach Taraporewala as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Dr. Irach B. Taraporewala is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with over 25 years of experience in drug development and regulatory strategy. He is a hands-on CEO with strong scientific background combined with significant management, leadership, business development, and financing experience.

“Irach has precisely the skill set that we were looking for. He is an experienced Pharmaceutical Industry Executive, accomplished in the development of novel drugs. Importantly, he has experience in working with the FDA in designing clinical trials, and he has taken a novel drug candidate through successful Phase II human clinical trials,” said Dr. Mukund Kulkarni, Chairman of the Compensation Committee, and a Director of the Company.

“We welcome Irach and believe that his joining the Company is a milestone achievement in fortifying our Management Team by bringing in strong Pharmaceutical Industry and Regulatory expertise,” said Dr. Anil R. Diwan, President and Chairman of the Company, adding, “Irach has strong expertise in CMC and QA/QC areas that will be extremely valuable for us to progress into an IND with our lead drug candidate in the HerpeCide™ program. He also has fund-raising experience in an early stage pharmaceutical company.”

“We believe that our substantive search and due diligence processes have led to the selection of the ideal candidate,” agreed Mr. Stan Glick, Chairman of the Search Committee and a Director of the Company.

Dr. Taraporewala was previously the founding CEO and President of Ohr Pharmaceutical, Inc. (“Ohr”), from April 2010 until December 2015.  During his 5 years of leadership at Ohr, he played a critical role in taking the company from preclinical stage through successful Phase II clinical trials. Dr. Taraporewala ensured that the Company was well capitalized, oversaw the up-listing of the Company’s common stock to the NASDAQ exchange, and completed several successful rounds of financing.

Prior to Ohr, Dr. Taraporewala was Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Clinical Research at Mystic Pharmaceuticals Inc., Austin, TX, from April 2008 to March 2010. At Mystic, he led the regulatory strategy for the Company’s ophthalmic and intranasal drug products, as well as drug delivery systems. Earlier, Dr. Taraporewala served at a well-known pharmaceutical consulting and clinical research organization, PAREXEL International Corp., as Senior Consultant in the Drug Development Consulting Division. In this position, he provided technical expertise and regulatory advice to small and large biotechnology and pharmaceutical company clients worldwide.

Dr. Taraporewala holds a Ph.D. degree in Medicinal Chemistry from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (1984).  He holds a Master of Science degree in Organic Chemistry, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Microbiology, both from the University of Bombay, India.

He will join NanoViricides, Inc. as of September 1st, 2018, although he has already begun to work with the Company in a limited capacity. 

About Dr. Irach B. Taraporewala

Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Irach B. Taraporewala is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with over 25 years experience in drug development and regulatory strategy. He is a hands-on CEO with strong scientific background combined with significant management, leadership, business development, and financing experience.

Dr. Taraporewala is the founder and Managing Member of Sitara Pharmaceutical Consulting, LLC, providing consulting services to biotechnology companies on business strategy, regulatory strategic planning for small molecule and biological pharmaceuticals, nanotechnology drugs and drug-device combination products.

Dr. Taraporewala was previously the founding CEO and President of Ohr Pharmaceutical, Inc. (“Ohr”), from April 2010 until December 2015. During his 5 years of leadership at Ohr, he played a critical role in taking the company from preclinical stage through successful Phase II clinical trials.  His achievements included technology assessment and opportunity identification, followed by due diligence for potential acquisitions. He led the acquisition of the lead compound Squalamine by Ohr, He was personally involved in successfully formulating the drug as an eye drop, completing FDA IND-enabling preclinical studies, and advancing the drug product through multiple Phase 2 clinical trials in retinal diseases. Results of human clinical trials in macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and retinal vein occlusions showed positive visual acuity benefits in patients.

Additionally, while at Ohr, he managed external contracts and manufacturing relationships, with particular attention to regulatory CMC and QA/QC aspects. Further, he managed the successful acquisition by Ohr of an ophthalmic research company, SKS Ocular, LLC. In addition, he established a joint venture spin-off between Ohr and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, called DepYmed, for further clinical development of certain oncology assets. Throughout his tenure as CEO of Ohr, Dr. Taraporewala ensured that the Company was well capitalized, oversaw the up-listing of the Company’s common stock to the NASDAQ exchange, and completed several successful rounds of financing.

Prior to Ohr, Dr. Taraporewala was Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Clinical Research at Mystic Pharmaceuticals Inc., Austin, TX, from April 2008 to March 2010. At Mystic, he led the regulatory strategy for the Company’s ophthalmic and intranasal drug products, as well as drug delivery systems. He played a key role in advancing the Company’s technology from lab bench research into clinical trials stage.  Earlier, Dr. Taraporewala served at a well-known pharmaceutical consulting and clinical research organization, PAREXEL International Corp., as Senior Consultant in the Drug Development Consulting Division. In this position, he provided technical expertise and regulatory advice to small and large biotechnology and pharmaceutical company clients worldwide.

Dr. Taraporewala also has a track record of being awarded multiple Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the areas of development of antiviral drugs, DNA-based cancer diagnostics, and from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) for antimalarial drug development, all as the Principal Investigator.

Dr. Taraporewala holds a Ph.D. degree in Medicinal Chemistry from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (1984).  He holds a Master of Science degree in Organic Chemistry, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Microbiology, both from the University of Bombay, India.