Dr. Chris Senanayake demonstrates the ability to define and optimize scientific and pharmaceutical research, development, and commercialization strategies and tactics. He can “connect the dots” between the purely scientific and commercial perspectives and set up creative and effective strategies for new and proprietary products in ways that build value for the organization and create a competitive advantage to transform the company to become the Contract Innovator Organization in the CDMO space for “Accelerating Molecules to Medicines^TM.”

Dr. Senanayake obtained his Ph.D. at Wayne State University, where he worked on the total synthesis of complex natural products such as ophiobolanes and completed the first total synthesis of grosshemin in the guaianolide family. He then undertook a postdoctoral fellow with Professor Carl R. Johnson. He worked on the total synthesis of polyol systems such as amphotericin B and compactin analogous and the synthesis of novel C-nucleosides. He has more than 450 publications in nationally known top scientific journals and 125 patents for green sustainable manufacturing of chemical processes and research and development in the drug development arena. He serves as Board of Editors of Organic Synthesis, Advance Synthesis of Catalysis, Organic Process Research and Development, Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry and Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry. He is instrumental in delivering several multi-billion-dollar drugs in an accelerated manner to the marketplace. 

He tackles the challenges of starting the company from the ground up with positivity and a vision of its success. He devotes himself to building a strong team culture while utilizing the personal intelligence of each employee to develop them into strong business and scientific acumen who enjoy working for the company’s mission. Through individual development, he encourages everyone to obtain their optimal potential as they develop and grow.

He optimizes the strengths of the individual rather than their weaknesses which in turn builds individual confidence for them to propel their career growth and automatically improve. Many times, diminishing their weakness and providing positive energy for their growth. He addresses the company’s needs while considering each employee’s contribution to fulfilling the mission with clear goals.

A Servant Leader

Dr. Senanayake follows servant leadership—leading with a servant’s heart. In essence, this type of leader focuses primarily on addressing the needs of their employees and customers. When serving teams, they operate with a heavy emphasis on learning and growth, practicing coaching leadership. For this reason, those under the guidance of servant leaders can expect to be nurtured but also challenged to achieve their full potential. Being a servant leader goes far beyond oneself. So much so that the goal is to multiply more autonomous leaders at every level.

“Treat others like you want to be treated; with respect and transparency and build a positive energy environment and optimize individual strengths,” says Dr. Senanayake. “Encourage those with leadership potential to envision themselves in a management role to their highest potential, while challenging and aligning others to meet the core mission of the company with clear goals.”

The steadfast leader strongly believes in the lead and learn…lead by example… while demonstrating and cultivating leadership by example – Leading by example is a powerful leadership philosophy because one can communicate messages more vividly through their actions, humility, and sincerity toward colleagues and employees at all levels. He also follows the principles of walk the talk- Teaching beyond preaching and genuine passion and determination – Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Armed with this ideology, Dr. Senanayake has been hailed as a pioneering leader.

Leading with Technology

Green chemistry and sustainability manufacturing for APIs are expected to be a key differentiator for innovative Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations (iCDMOs) for accelerated drug development. Also, the geopolitical environment has changed drastically in the last two years, and the US government is creating policies to incentivize national companies to secure their supply chains internally. Therefore, the industry is transforming itself by focusing on new technologies such as catalysis, photo redox catalysis, electrochemical transformations, continuous flow chemistry, bio-transformation, hazard minimization, synthesis and engineering to produce complex molecules, energy efficiency, renewable feedstock, and more.

According to Dr. Senanayake, employing technologies of continuous flow chemistry and catalysis are the tools of innovation that allow companies with their current facilities to increase production in less time and with less capital than traditional expansion. Phase approach development process while advancing and to be ready for commercialization, companies should be considering manufacturing mindset at the beginning of the development cycle while utilizing the discussed technologies by employing a first-time-right basis. This will accelerate moving new chemical entities (NCEs) through the drug development pipeline for the biotech and pharma industry, thus bringing innovative drugs to patients more rapidly.

These aspects require investments in technology, high-end collaborative research involving industry-academic partnerships, change of mindset of investors/thought leaders and government authorities. TCG GreenChem, Inc. is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this paradigm shift. This can be accomplished because of our relationships with academia, government institutions, expertise in synthesis of complex molecules, continuous flow chemistry, catalysis embedded automated reaction design and engineering processes and in-depth knowledge of the needs and concerns of the pharmaceutical and biotech industry in how to expeditiously advance a preclinical candidate to a commercial product through all aspects of drug development.

A Reliable Partner

“All our clients feel that we are a reliable partner, creating value by giving competitive advantage through Innovation for their product portfolio development,” explains Dr. Senanayake. “We also provide green chemistry driven latest synthetic and analytical chemistry technologies and applying engineering solutions, catalysis, and flow chemistry to meet our clients, profitability, safety and environmental objectives. TCG GreenChem ensures speed to market and security of supply chain management.”

The company provides clients a clear opportunity for the accelerated CMC Development by supporting the drug lead selection and decision process earlier on. This gives their clients an accelerated market entry advantage to reduce their cost. “Our core strengths in science and technology are reflected in the design and development of novel sustainable synthetic routes for complex APIs and solid state characterization of APIs to secure IP position by locking thermodynamic polymorphic form early development cycle for bioavailability improvements and stability of the drug candidates.”

To be cost-competitive while meeting the industry’s sustainability and “green” manufacturing goals, the pharmaceutical industry turns to innovation for help. Embracing manufacturing practices that reduce chemical waste and lead to process intensification benefits the environment and enhances pharmaceutical companies’ profitability. Moreover, it affords greater access and affordability for medicines to more patients worldwide. Hence, working with the right partners is becoming critical for a pharmaceutical company’s success, especially for emerging biotech and generic companies.

TCG GreenChem, Inc. is the US subsidiary of TCG Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd., a leading global Contract Research and Manufacturing Services company. Based in Princeton South, New Jersey USA and Richmond, Virginia USA, TCG GreenChem brings the experience, technological expertise, and know-how required to meet all the objectives and is positioned as a Contract Innovator Organization^TM in CDMO with a unique modus operandi in the space of pharmaceutical R&D. Moreover, through strategic partnerships with a select group of manufacturing companies in Asia, TCG GreenChem offers cGMP manufacturing reliability in the United States and India.  TCG GreenChem, Inc. was conceptualized by Dr. Chris H. Senanayake (Founder and CEO & CSO and CSO TCG Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd) and Dr. Joseph D. Armstrong, III (COO), former pharmaceutical executives with a track record in the development of hundreds of New Chemical Entities (NCEs) into the clinic and commercialization of several well-known pharmaceutical products for Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Sepracor, Inc., and Merck & Co, Inc.

“Our company, with over 150+ years of pharmaceutical senior leadership experience and a state-of the-art Innovation Center in the US, uses cutting-edge technologies in analytics, catalysis, flow chemistry, microfluidics and CMC expertise to design processes for our clients and partners which are friendlier to the environment and most cost effective. As stated in the company’s vision and mission statement (www.tcggreenchem.com), TCG GreenChem’s passion for innovation aims, though our unique model of collaboration, to help its clients gain competitive advantage through a “First-Time-Right,” “Stronger IP Position,” “Speed to Market” and “Security of Supply.”