A Bit About Us
We focus on developing nano-therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of skin infections using the power of nanotechnology
Our goal is to enable a future free of antibiotic resistance through innovation and discovery of a novel class of nanotechnology-based antimicrobials
Prasanna Gore, PhD
Cofounder and CEO
Prasanna Gore, PhD
Prasanna has 20+ years of management consulting and executive experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries with a focus on corporate and commercial strategy development. He has a strong commercial and scientific background with in-depth knowledge of the pharma/biotech space coupled with a broad therapeutic area experience. As the SynCell CEO, Prasanna leads the management team and is responsible for setting the long-term business vision and strategy, fund-raising, operational execution, and making corporate decisions with the advice of the board. During his strategy consulting career, he has been a senior advisor to corporate clients assisting the management board in setting long-term strategic direction and vision, formulating strategies for maximizing business asset value, implementing policy initiatives, aligning resources and capabilities to the overall strategic plan across business units, and ensuring achievement of corporate and commercial objectives. Prasanna has led teams on business planning and analysis and has contributed to C-suite level decision-making at both large and small biopharma firms across North America, Europe, Japan, India, and China. In the past, he served as a senior strategy consultant at SRI (Stanford Research Institute) Consulting, an assistant tenure-track professor at the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy, a pharmaceutical marketing and sales executive, and a healthcare analyst. He is the past Chairman of the Economic Management and Marketing Section of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. He served on the board of directors of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals India from 2000 to 2006. Prasanna received his Ph.D. and MS degrees in healthcare marketing from West Virginia University and his pharmacy degree from the University of Bombay.
David Medina Cruz, PhD
Cofounder and Head of R&D
David Medina Cruz, PhD
Over the last decade, David has worked in several research laboratories ranging from the Biological Sciences, Physics, Inorganic, and Organic Chemistry and Catalyst Departments, with full-time internships at Genetics Laboratory (IREC) and Institute for Chemical Catalysts (Vienna). He currently serves as one of the Directors of SynCell and manages the company’s scientific, research, and technological operations. As part of his research career, David focused on using green nanotechnology and nanomedicine to fight antibiotic-resistant pathogenic diseases and chemotherapy-resistant cancer. He has more than ten years of research experience with a strong background in chemistry, nanotechnology, biomedicine, microbiology, and chemical engineering. David’s research has been published in the top nanomedicine journals and he has presented at podium talks/poster sessions at high-ranking international conferences.
David has mentored over 25 research trainees in his research career and has supervised MS and PhD thesis work while being a senior PhD student at Northeastern University. He is the co-founder of two other startup companies in biotech and cleantech, serves as a Partnership Associate with scientific associations and startups, and plays a key role on the board of an international nonprofit, ECUSA (Españoles Científicos en the USA). David is also a book author and a reviewer for scientific journals.
Thomas Webster, PhD
Cofounder and Chief Scientific Officer
Thomas Webster, PhD
Tom is a World-renowned expert in nanomedicine and nanomaterials for medical applications. Thomas Webster’s (H index: 107; Google Scholar) degrees are in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh (B.S., 1995; USA) and in biomedical engineering from RPI (Ph.D., 2000; USA). He has served as a professor at Purdue (2000-2005), Brown (2005-2012), and Northeastern University (2012-2021; serving as Chemical Engineering Department Chair from 2012 – 2019) and has formed over a dozen companies who have numerous FDA approved medical products currently improving human health. He is the PI on the IP that SynCell is currently licensing from Northeastern. Dr. Webster is a world-renowned expert in nanotechnology and nanomedicine and has received numerous awards including: 2020, World Top 2% Scientist by Citations (PLOS); 2020, SCOPUS Highly Cited Research (Top 1% Materials Science and Mixed Fields); 2021, Clarivate Top 0.1% Most Influential Researchers (Pharmacology and Toxicology); and is a fellow of over 8 societies. He is the founding editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Nanomedicine and a former President of the Society for Biomaterials. Dr. Webster is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Society, and the National Academy of Inventors. Dr. Webster is also a serial entrepreneur focused on developing nanomedicine technologies for the biotech industry.
Mahesh Sambasivam, PhD
Chief Business Officer
Mahesh Sambasivam, PhD
Mahesh has a Ph. D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, USA. He brings over 20+ years of experience working several industries ranging from microelectronics to medical devices and is an industry and business expert on wound dressings, implants, and novel medical innovations.
Whitney Herchek, MS
Head of Market Access
Whitney Herchek, MS
Whitney As a life sciences consultant, Whitney serves as an advisor to a variety of medical technology and healthcare companies introducing new technologies to the U.S. market. Whitney focuses on market and reimbursement strategy for both U.S. and foreign companies at different phases of development. Previously, she was instrumental in licensing a novel nanotechnology from Brown University, helped fundraise for the new venture, and oversaw the technical development of a pre-clinical platform for orthopedic, anti-microbial, and wound care applications. She holds a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and a M.S. in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship Engineering from Brown University.
Our Partners and Collaborators
Frequently Asked Questions
SynCell Biotechnology Inc. is a biotechnology startup company based in the U.S. focused on developing microbially-synthesized nanomaterials with biomedical applications.
- Quality in innovation. We seek to bring the best of the intersection between microbiology and nanotechnology in the shape of solutions with great potential to tackle the most compelling healthcare concerns.
- The greenway. We seek to incorporate the principles of Green Nanotechnology at every step of our technology process that relies on cost-effective and environmentally-friendly approaches.
- The value of people. Above all, we will not be able to achieve what we aim for without the dedication of our people. Our team members are our greatest asset!
- Each year in the United States, nearly 3 million people get an antibiotic-resistant infection leading to more than 35,000 deaths and a staggering $55 billion in healthcare costs.
- Fighting this healthcare threat is a public health priority and our mission.
- We provide an innovative solution that uses the bacteria itself to fight the problem of antibiotic resistance.
- By understanding the mechanisms of key biochemical processes in prokaryotic cells, we use bacteria as biofactories of nanomaterials without introducing any genetic manipulation in the organisms.
- Once produced, the nanomaterials are purified and employed as either sole antimicrobials or key components in combinatorial medical devices.