Sai Life Sciences, one of India's fastest growing Contract Development & Manufacturing Organizations (CDMOs), has announced the appointment of Jay Stella as Chief Business Officer, to lead the overall business development and program management for the company. Jay will be based out of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States and report to the CEO & Managing Director, Krishna Kanumuri.

Jay Stella brings over 25 years of leadership in the pharmaceutical and medical devices industries with extensive experience across R&D, manufacturing, business development, finance, and post-M&A integrations. He held positions of increasing responsibility at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Pharmaceuticals for 15 years, across strategy & operations, business development, and integrations & divestitures, while also gaining significant experience in the Japanese cultural and business environment. Earlier, he worked for medium sized biotech companies, Biogen and Genetics Institute, where he held various financial and operational roles. Prior to the pharmaceutical industry, Jay worked in technical operations, manufacturing, planning, and strategic sourcing roles in the medical device industry. Jay received his MBA from Boston University and his Baccalaureate degree from the University of Vermont in Spanish with minors in Chemistry and Biology. 

Making the announcement, Krishna Kanumuri said, "Inducting top-notch global leadership and scientific talent is a key priority as part of our transformative effort, Sai Nxt. We are delighted to have Jay on board in this exciting phase."

Sai Nxt is an organization-wide initiative aimed at transforming the company into a new generation CDMO. With investments of over US $ 150 million between 2019 and 2023, the focus is on three key areas – People & culture, Processes & automation, Infrastructure & scientific capabilities.