Hyderabad, Telangana, India, August 2026 — Virchow Biotech Pvt. Ltd., part of the Virchow Group, has appointed Dr. Ram Sarma as its Chief Operating Officer (COO). In his new role, he will serve as the overall head of operations, leading drug substance, drug product, and dosage-form manufacturing activities across the company’s locations.
With 34 years of experience across the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, Dr. Ram Sarma brings deep expertise in sterile manufacturing, biologics, operational leadership, regulatory compliance, technology transfer, greenfield projects, and manufacturing transformation. At Virchow Biotech, he will oversee multidisciplinary operational teams while strengthening productivity, quality systems, audit readiness, data integrity, and customer-focused execution across the organisation.
Prior to joining Virchow Biotech, Dr. Sarma served as Vice President – Manufacturing Operations at Syngene International Limited, where he led biologics drug-product manufacturing operations. His responsibilities included introducing new products, maintaining continuous audit readiness, strengthening data-integrity practices, and advancing a right-first-time manufacturing culture. Earlier, as Senior Director, he enhanced plant capabilities through initiatives including terminal sterilisation, Annex 1 compliance, and the introduction of pre-use post-sterilisation integrity testing systems.
Dr. Sarma previously served as Senior Director and Head of Manufacturing at Stelis Biopharma, where he led manufacturing operations, improved productivity, maintained strong quality performance, and supported vaccine manufacturing during the COVID-19 period. As Vice President Operations at Nichepharm Lifesciences, he headed a major greenfield facility comprising multiple production lines for vials, ampoules, pre-filled syringes, lyophilised products, and dry powders, successfully commissioning and commercialising several lines within a compressed timeline.
Earlier, he spent more than five years with Biocon Biologics, heading two drug-product plants and contributing to the establishment of injectables and lyophilisation capabilities. His responsibilities covered project execution, installation, qualification, exhibit batches, commercial manufacturing, and inspections by international regulators including the USFDA, EMA, ANVISA, and TGA. His career also includes senior operational roles at Sanofi, Sun Pharma, and Strides Arcolab, where he led injectable manufacturing, external manufacturing, technology transfers, regulatory audits, and high-volume production programmes. During his tenure at Strides Arcolab, he also completed a collaborative Master’s programme in Pharmaceutical Operations and Management from BITS Pilani, strengthening his academic foundation in pharmaceutical manufacturing leadership.
About Virchow Biotech
Virchow Biotech Pvt. Ltd. is a Hyderabad-based biopharmaceutical company and part of the Virchow Group, which was incorporated in 1981. The company has extensive experience in research and development, clinical trials, large-scale manufacturing, and commercialisation of plasma products, recombinant products, biologicals, and biopharmaceuticals.
With more than 1,100 employees, Virchow Biotech operates advanced clean-room manufacturing infrastructure and fill-finish capabilities for pre-filled syringes, vials, cartridges, and lyophilised drug products. The company also provides contract research, manufacturing, and co-development services, while serving therapeutic areas including wound care, gynaecology, urology, oncology, vaccines, and probiotics. Its mission is to make high-quality biopharmaceutical products accessible and affordable to patients worldwide.
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