Gopi Shankar

Gopi Shankar, PhD, MBA, FAAPS, joined Larimar Therapeutics in February, 2023 as Chief Development Officer bringing over 20 years of experience leading the development of novel biologics, most recently as Vice President and Global Head, Biologics Development Sciences at Janssen Research & Development (a pharmaceutical company of Johnson & Johnson, Inc.). In this role, Dr. Shankar led a global, 175-person R&D team that contributed to more than 60 combined investigational new drug (IND) application, biologics license application (BLA), and marketing authorization application (MAA) filings. He also previously worked as Senior Director and Head, Bioanalytical Sciences and Immunogenicity at Janssen Research & Development. Earlier in his career, Dr. Shankar worked as a Director, Immune Response Assessment and Research at Centocor R&D (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson), where he contributed to multiple regulatory approvals and spearheaded the publication of five multi-author white papers that formed the basis of U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency guidance on clinical immunogenicity assessment and reporting.

Dr. Shankar is a Fellow and President-elect of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) and was previously awarded the AAPS Distinguished Service Award. He also received several leadership and innovation awards, including two of Johnson & Johnson’s top recognitions – the Philip B. Hoffman Research Scientist Award and the SPARK Innovation Award. He has an Executive MBA from Drexel University, a Master of Science from Oklahoma State University, and a PhD from the University of Kentucky.