Driving Acceleration in Oncology Drug Development and Clinical Trials

After joining PPD, Dirk started working groups to study implementation of platform trials, the methodology of biosimilar trials and the implementation of Teletrials. He has more than 20 years of experience in oncology clinical development at both large pharma and biotech and worked on four oncology drug approvals in multiple tumor types. He has worked at PPD for over 15 years. Dr. Reitsma holds an MD from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

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He also has been a member of the Board of Directors for the Phase 0 / Microdosing Network. Dr. DiMasi testified before the US Congress in hearings leading up to the FDA Modernization Act of 1997 and reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act. Dr. DiMasi’s research interests include the R&D cost of new drug development, risks in new drug development, factors that affect the length of the development and regulatory approval processes, innovation incentives for biopharmaceutical R&D and changes in the structure and performance of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

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Hajir is passionate about innovation and is recognized for his expertise in integrated CDMO and CRO solutions. He brings a cross-functional mindset that bridges asset development, clinical manufacturing, supply strategy, and clinical operations. This holistic approach enables clients to accelerate drug development while navigating complexity across the molecule lifecycle—from early-stage discovery to commercialization.

Since joining Thermo Fisher Scientific in 2018, Hajir has held a series of progressively senior roles across program management, portfolio delivery, business operations, and commercial strategy within both the Pharma Services and Clinical Research Groups. In recent years, he has played a pivotal role in designing and implementing strategic partnership models that emphasize flexibility, risk-sharing, and operational alignment with client objectives. As part of the Accelerator™ Drug Development offering, Hajir partners with biotech and biopharma sponsors to develop bespoke, fit-for-purpose development strategies, seamlessly integrating scientific insight, regulatory foresight, and operational precision.

Hajir holds a Master’s degree in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering from McMaster University in Canada and has authored peer-reviewed publications and patents in the field of targeted drug delivery systems. He is committed to building collaborative, high-impact partnerships that not only support scientific advancement but also contribute to the delivery of safe, effective therapies that improve lives globally.

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His personal immuno-oncology and cell therapy experience includes treating patients with advanced melanoma, kidney cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma with adoptive cell therapies and vaccines either with or without gene modification. He developed an immunotherapy program in Northern California for treating advanced melanoma and kidney cancer patients with high-dose interleukin-2.

At PPD, he has been the therapeutic advisor for cell therapy studies in oncology and provides drug development strategy, medical, scientific and product development guidance to both external clients and PPD’s internal clinical operations and business development teams. He also consults on investigational new drug submission and clinical input toward protocol development, including adaptive designs when feasible.

With extensive clinical oncology experience and as a Senior Executive in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, Dr. Balkissoon joined PPD in 2013 after previously working at Genentech and Oxigene in South San Francisco where he was Vice President of Clinical Research.

Dr. Balkissoon holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Beloit College in Wisconsin and an MD from Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC. He has also completed a general surgery residency at Howard University.

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In her previous positions at Amgen and Genentech as a lead toxicologist and pharmacology team leader, Elena designed and implemented toxicology plans for small molecules and biologics, authored regulatory documents, and served as a representative at meetings with regulatory authorities. She has worked in multiple therapeutic areas, including infectious disease, oncology, neurology, rheumatology, immunology, and metabolic disease, and has supported programs in various stages from early discovery to post-marketing.

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He has held multiple leadership roles in the area of data science for clinical research and has been at the forefront of industry efforts to bring innovation and predictive modeling to clinical trial operations and patient data analytics. He helps organizations by identifying novel use cases in AI, and building and managing data science teams to deliver those use cases. He has a Masters of Business Administration and Undergraduate Degree in Environmental Sciences, both from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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