Puja Sapra

As Senior Vice President of Biologics Engineering and Oncology Targeted Discovery, I lead the teams responsible for discovering and engineering novel biologics across AstraZeneca therapy areas, and for advancing modalities that target cancer from multiple angles, with the goal of one day eliminating cancer as a cause of death.

In Oncology R&D, we are working to deliver potentially life-changing medicines to people who need them most, with a vision for antibody drug conjugates and radioconjugates to redefine chemotherapy and radiotherapy regimens, when used in combination with other diverse modalities from our portfolio. 

For more than 20 years, I have worked on a breadth of tumour-targeting strategies and biotherapeutics including immunotherapeutics, CD3-bispecifics, liposomal drug delivery systems, nanoparticles, antisense oligonucleotide delivery and pegylation technologies. In this time, I’ve built industry leading platforms and a diversified pipeline in the tumour-targeted oncology arena. I’ve been involved in identifying and bringing antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) to clinical trials – including early Phase I trials of an ADC for adults and children with acute myeloid leukaemia, as well as an ADC for refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

I give lectures at national and international meetings, have authored more than 50 scientific publications, book chapters, and I am a recognized inventor or co-inventor of more than 25 patents in the field. I am a member of several scientific and medical societies including American Association for Cancer Research and also serve as the Deputy Editor of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.

I earned a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Alberta on an Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research scholarship. My research was in the lab of Theresa M Allen who pioneered the concept of stealth liposomal technology that ultimately resulted in the development of a liposomal form of a well-known chemotherapy used to treat haematological malignancies and solid tumours.