Dr. Walmik Karbhari Gaikwad | Inventprise Inc. Redmond WA USA | United States
Dr. Walmik Karbhari Gaikwad is an accomplished biopharmaceutical scientist and manufacturing leader with over 18 years of combined experience in research, development, and large-scale production of vaccines and biotherapeutics. He currently serves as Manufacturing Manager at Inventprise Inc., Redmond, Washington, where he oversees cGMP-compliant production of proteins, conjugates, and drug substances for vaccines, ensuring regulatory adherence and process efficiency. Previously, he held a long tenure at Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., where he played a key role in developing and optimizing multivalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine processes, achieving significant cost reduction and scalability improvements. Dr. Gaikwad holds a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biotechnology from Savitribai Phule Pune University, with research focused on conjugation processes for Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 2 polysaccharides, and earlier earned his M.Tech. in Biotechnology and B.Tech. in Chemical Sciences. He is an inventor of two international patents and has authored 4 peer-reviewed documents, with 22 citations across 14 documents and an h-index of 3, reflecting the growing impact of his scholarly contributions. His research publications in journals such as Carbohydrate Polymers and Carbohydrate Research explore advanced methods for simultaneous purification, partial depolymerization, and antigenicity preservation of pneumococcal polysaccharides. Recognized with a Best Presentation Award at the International Conference on Industrial Biotechnology, he is also an editorial board member and peer reviewer for multiple journals, actively contributing to scientific integrity. His expertise spans process development, upstream and downstream bioprocessing, technology transfer, QbD, GLP/cGMP compliance, regulatory audits, and cross-functional leadership. Dr. Gaikwad is passionate about applying his research and industrial knowledge to advance vaccine accessibility, improve bioprocess efficiency, and mentor the next generation of biopharmaceutical professionals.
Featured Publications
Gaikwad, W. K., Kodam, K. M., Dhere, R. M., Jana, S. K., Gautam, M., Mallya, A. D., et al. (2021). Simultaneous purification and depolymerization of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 2 capsular polysaccharides by trifluoroacetic acid. Carbohydrate Polymers, 261, 117859.
Gaikwad, W. K., Jana, S. K., Dhere, R. M., Ravenscroft, N., & Kodam, K. M. (2022). Purification of capsular polysaccharides isolated from S. pneumoniae serotype 2 by hydrogen peroxide and endonuclease. Carbohydrate Polymers, 294, 119783.
Gaikwad, W. K., Dhere, R. M., Jana, S. K., Mallya, A. D., Soni, D. J., Gholap, M., et al. (2023). Effect of trifluoroacetic acid on the antigenicity of capsular polysaccharides obtained from various Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes. Carbohydrate Polymers, 320, 121204.
Gaikwad, W. K., Jana, S. K., Dhere, R. M., Ravenscroft, N., & Kodam, K. M. (2022). Partial depolymerization of capsular polysaccharides isolated from Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 2 by various methods. Carbohydrate Research, 512, 108503.
Dhere, R. M., Jana, S. K., & Gaikwad, W. K. (2023). Methods for simultaneous fragmentation and purification of bacterial polysaccharides. European Patent EP4150104A1.