Sponsors of all editions
The Nature of the Talks at PLA® India 2026
The programme at PLA® India 2026 focuses on the genuine priorities of Indian pharma, biotech, and CDMOs. Each session combines strategic foresight with practical case studies from India’s R&D and manufacturing sectors.
Key themes include:
-
Digital Transformation in Practice - Case studies from leading Indian organisations on implementing LIMS, ELN, and paperless QC at scale.
-
AI & Data Integrity - How Indian pharma is utilising AI for generics and biosimilars while maintaining compliance and validation rigour.
-
Connectivity & Automation Strategies for harmonizing - Workflows and enabling seamless data flow between the lab and the plant.
-
Global Competitiveness - How India is elevating its global quality and compliance standards.
-
Innovation & Collaboration - Scalable, cost-effective solutions designed for India’s unique challenges.
The PLA® India stage is about real stories, hard-won experience, and tangible outcomes. Every talk provides actionable insights to help organisations accelerate their digital lab revolution.
Reasons to attend
- Join India’s digital lab revolution, a two-day event for pharma, biotech, and CDMOs.
- Gain insights from leaders implementing digital R&D, QA, and manufacturing.
- Hear from CXOS, VPS, and Directors driving AI, data, and digital architecture.
- Network with decision-makers, 80% with lab informatics budgets, and 90% involved in digital projects.
- Participate in workshops and panels on validation, automation, and AI-driven QC.
- Discover innovations from tech providers creating compliant, cost-effective solutions.
- Strengthen partnerships through networking and industry roundtables, fostering collaboration across the digital ecosystem.
- Low-price registrations for visitors
Reasons to sponsor
- Access to CXO, VP, and Director attendees with purchasing power and digital transformation mandates.
- A proven B2B audience: 90% lead digital projects, and 80% have approved informatics or quality budgets.
- Showcase solutions and expertise to India’s top pharma and CDMO organizations in a business-focused setting.
- Lead a branded workshop or panel — a one-hour session on innovation, discussions, or success stories.
- Benefit from year-round promotion via PLA’s newsletters, digital campaigns, and the global 20/15 Visioneers community.
- Build visibility as a partner in India’s digital transformation, with ongoing media and outreach collaborations.
- Join a respected global platform connecting technology, data, and compliance leaders.
- See how the 2025 event went here
Also, do not miss the Workshops included in the Program
These 60-minute, hands-on sessions align with India’s priorities in connectivity, validation, AI and orchestration. Speakers are being finalized; topics and times may change.
Workshop 1
Provisional focus: instrument connectivity, data flows, and open standards (SiLA/AnIML) to enable multi-site interoperability.
Who it’s for: IT Architects, QC/QA, Lab Managers.
Workshop 2
Provisional focus: risk-based CSV/CSA, GxP data governance, and evidence packs that reduce validation cycle time.
Who it’s for: QA/CSV Leads, Compliance, Data Stewards.
Workshop 3
Provisional focus: practical AI use-cases for method transfer, anomaly detection, stability trends and batch release acceleration.
Who it’s for: QC Leaders, Digital CoE, R&D Analytics.
Workshop 4
Provisional focus: orchestrating end-to-end workflows across LIMS/ELN/LES with instrument integration and e-signatures.
Who it’s for: Operations, Informatics Owners, Site Heads.
Agenda Highlights
Day 1 – Digital Transformation: Data Strategy & Next-Generation R&D
For Quality, IT, and R&D leaders developing compliant, data-driven pipelines.
Learn from architecture and platform experts at companies like Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Zifo, Accenture, and Dassault Systèmes.
Day 1 – Agentic AI in Generics and Manufacturing QC
Insights from India’s leading generics companies, for example, Dr Reddy’s, Cipla, MSN Labs, and Aurobindo – on AI adoption and digital validation.
Day 2 – Validation & Data Governance for CDMOs
Practical guidance from validation specialists like Hetero, Cohance Lifesciences, and Veeda Clinical Research, alongside standards leadership from Splashlake and SiLA.
Speakers and Panellists of PLA2024 India Chapter
Mahendra Patel
Ass. General Manager Bioanalytical Research
Mr. Mahendra serves as a Bioanalytical Scientist at Veeda Clinical Research Ltd. In his role, he acts as the QC/QA Scientific and Technical Lead for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies. His responsibilities include establishing
QC/QA processes for the bioanalytical assays, ensuring adherence to both scientific and regulatory standards. Seasoned Expert with over 18 years of experience in regulated bioanalysis.
Currently, leading various range of Lab Automation Projects with a focus on integrating and optimizing systems such as analytical software, LIMS, SDMS, ELN, and LES.
Khushbu Gupta
Senior IT product Manager
Ms Gupta is heading up LABs DD & IT @ GBS, accountable for all global IT Systems/Solutions used in Labs across Novo Nordisk. She has been working with Novo Nordisk since 2016 . She has led and established diverse teams in QMS and Digitalization. Her education is in Pharma and Business Management from Narsee Monji Institute of Management Studies, Pune. Ms Gupta lives in Bangalore, India with her husband and daughter, originally from Northern part of India.
Reza Peyghami
Senior IT Systems Architect Digital & Data
Over the 25 years of his career, Reza has held various positions in the IT sector, including roles in IT administration, project management, service management, systems & compliance management and solution Architect. His involvement in Pharma industry and QC laboratories has encompassed the design, implementation, and enhancement of diverse platforms and digitalization technologies at NovoNordisk. Reza obtained a BS in Computer Hardware Engineering from Azad University in Tehran, Iran, and an MS in IT Engineering with a focus on E-Commerce from Shiraz University in Iran.
J Sooriya Kumar
Associate Director AI & Informatics
Dr Sooriya Kumar believes in digital transformation and committed to bringing more value to the customers and stakeholders. He develops AI models for drug discovery with 19 years of data analytics experience in drug discovery research. He has built and deploy AI infrastructure at scale for drug discovery vertical from the flinch. He is also involved in health care AI start-up’s technology evaluation for investments and early adaptation for digital transformation.
Deepak Magoo
Head digital application development

Deepak Magoo is today Head digital application developmental at Aragen Life Sciences
Experienced in Technical architecture, design and development primarily using Microsoft platform & .NET technologies. Certified as Senior Technical Architect under Accenture Master Technology Architect program, IT Architect from IASA and Microsoft certified enterprise application developer
Worked in Pharmaceutical, Energy (upstream & midstream), Ecommerce, Banking and telecommunication industry domains.
I am a highly motivated, initiative-taking, value driven collaborative person with impactful communication and win-win leadership skills.
Burkhard Schaefer
SiLA Board Member, AnIML Task Group Lead

Burkhard Schaefer has been active in the lab informatics community for over 25 years. He is a member of the SiLA Board of Directors and leads the AnIML Task Group at ASTM, and SLAS Fellow. Burkhard earned his computer science diploma at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, Germany, and the University of New Mexico. Burkhard held various positions in data management organizations at Los Alamos National Laboratory, NIST, co-founder of BSSN Software, head of core technologies and partnering at MilliporeSigma, and now managing director of Splashlake.
Yashodhara Pawar
Global Head, Digital Technology Solutions, R&D

Yashodhara Pawar “YP” is a Chemical Engineer and has worked across Product Design for Unilever’s Beauty and Personal Care Products and now heads the development and deployment of digital technologies globally across Unilever R&D.
Debabrata Sanyal
Corporate Quality Assurance – Group Head Digital Automation

Debabrata Sanyal is Senior General Manager in Corporate Quality Assurance in MSN Laboratories. He brings 23 years of experience in the diversified field of Quality Management and Regulatory Affairs. Debabrata has previously worked for organisations like Torrent Research, Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Aurobindo Research and MSN Laboratories. Assenting with his diversified work experience for various areas, Debabrata in his current tenure ensures organisation goal on designing and navigating the transformation of long term digitisation and automation targets into processes and solutions.
Saravanan Ilangovan
Associate Director Global Lab Informatics
Saravanan has 19 years of experience in pharmaceutical digitalization, at the forefront of driving digital innovation and transformation within the industry. Saravanan’s journey began with a strong foundation in technology and a deep understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities within the pharmaceutical landscape.
Saravanan has successfully led and implemented a wide range of large-scale digital initiatives across the pharmaceutical industry in India and EMEA, which includes Scientific Data Mining, Electronic Laboratory Notebook (GXP / cGMP), Compound Management, Inventory Management, Instrument Management, SDMS, and Legacy Data Migration with the adoption to latest technologies trending in the Industries. Saravanan’s expertise extends to areas such as process mining, supply chain digitalization, and regulatory compliance.
Chandra Sai Dusanapudi
Head- Information Technology & OpEx

Chandra Sai D has 18 years of experience in the GxP domain. and has worked in IT operations, Digitalization, IT Compliance, CSV and Quality.
He has also published different articles on Digital transformation, GxP cloud services and other related topics. He is currently working as Head- Information Technology & OpEx at Flamingo Pharmaceutical Ltd.
Raj Kumar Patra
Group Product Head – Quality & EHS/Supply

Raj comes with close to 2 decades of industry& technology experience across Lifesciencesand CPG industries spanning R&D and Labs.He has led several large and complexbusiness digital transformations spanningCloud, Data and SaaS adoption. Currently he leads the product groups across Quality andSupply at Reckitt and is helping drive multiple value based initiatives.
Antima Gupta
Application Scientist

Antima Gupta is an Application Scientist in the Customer Engagement team at Collaborative Drug Discovery based in the UK.
Before joining CDD, she worked as a Biological Scientist for a hit-to-lead drug discovery project and used CDD Vault at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine/Salvensis, UK. She received her PhD in Molecular Microbiology and further contributed in science through her research as a UNESCO-L’Oréal International Young Women Scientist. During her 10 years research career, she focused on multiple drug discovery projects related to neglected tropical diseases.
Bob McDowall
Director

An analytical chemist with 50 years of experience, including working in the pharmaceutical industry for 15 years and afterward working for the industry as a consultant for 29 years. Bob has been involved with the automation of laboratories since 1980 and has over 35 years experience of validation of computerized systems and is the author of a book on the validation of chromatography data systems. His latest book is Data Integrity and Data Governance….
Plenary session of rich-content
The plenary session is composed of presentations from digital transformation project leaders, final users, though leaders of the industry, matter experts keynote speakers from the industry sharing their experience and project status. We actively work to avoid commercial content in this session. We are articulating an agenda to ease active and interactive discussions.
Product Deep Dive Workshops
Several breakdown sessions are organised for our sponsors, where they present their latest industry news in a one-hour open session. As subject matter experts, they will bring their latest solutions (products and/or services) and share with you their experience and knowledge to support your specific needs.
Networking with the Experts
The Paperless Lab Academy® brings together several solution providers in the exhibition hall and offers you a good overview of current and future trends. An excellent combination of well-known international suppliers in the laboratory informatics industry and new companies coming up with new innovative proposals. A true showcase space with quality networking opportunities to gather deeper information with peers, colleagues, presenters and vendors.
HOLIDAY INN MUMBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
WHERE:
Sakinaka, Junction, Andheri - Kurla Rd, Andheri East
Mumbai, Maharashtra 400072
Website: www.ihg.com/holidayinn
Reservation: 900 983 177, reservations.himia@IHG.com
On-site parking available
WHEN:
PLAINDIA2026 starts on February 17 2026, 09:00 am to February 18 2026, 16:30 pm.
EVENT BADGE IS REQUIRED AT ALL SESSIONS





























































