About Us
Executive Team
Srilekha Deka, MD, PhD Chief Scientific Officer, Script Molecular
Srilekha Deka is a skilled scientist, an experienced executive, and leader with two decades of experience in the biotechnology industry. She founded Script Molecular with a mission to drive innovation by providing clear guidance and solutions to streamline product development leading to a positive impact on patient outcomes. Srilekha has contributed to the success of innovative start-ups like HandyLab and GenturaDx (acquired by Luminex), mid-size companies like Meridian Bioscience, and industry leaders including BD, Roche and LabCorp. By successfully working with cross-functional teams, she has contributed to the launch of multiple products and platforms. Srilekha worked on more than ten successful submissions to the FDA and other regulatory agencies including the first 510(k) clearance for the BD Max platform and the Meridian Bioscience Alethia platform. She led the R&D team at Molecular Designs through a successful ISO13485 certification and rapid commercialization of RUO assays. Srilekha has the distinct advantage of understanding the needs of start-ups and established large companies and can tailor the services of Script Molecular to meet their unique needs.
Srilekha holds an M.D. from Gauhati Medical College, India and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Science from the Quillen College of Medicine, ETSU. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship in Immunology from Wayne State University, Detroit and has authored multiple publications in peer reviewed journals. Srilekha is enthusiastic about leveraging her broad knowledge of scientific and technical principles to contribute to the advancement of diagnostic methods for improved disease outcomes for patients.
Manohar Furtado, PhD Chief Commercial Officer, Script Molecular
Manohar Furtado is an experienced leader with strategic vision and an established track record for commercial launch of integrated products for the RUO and IVD markets. He has four decades of experience working with large, mid-size and small biotech companies and bringing their technology to the market. Manohar has worked for pioneering biotechnology organizations like Bio-Rad, Cepheid and Thermo Fisher Scientific and with innovative companies like Advanced Cell Diagnostics to position their RNAScope ISH technology for biomarker analysis, Vibrant Health for their novel peptide/PNA microarray for infectious and auto- immune diseases, Apton Biosystems for their Super-Res multiomic system and LexaGene for their automated platform for rapid pathogen detection. As a scientist, he has experience in design, development, and manufacturing of complete systems in the field of immunoassays, qPCR, dPCR, super resolution imaging, Sanger and NGS single molecule sequencing technologies. At Script Molecular, Manohar brings his vast knowledge of the industry to help clients build effective strategies for product development and commercialization.
Manohar earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Pune University, completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Molecular Virology at the Northwestern University Medical School, and holds a Business Certification from MIT, Sloane School of Management. He has 15 patents and over 100 peer-reviewed national and international publications. Manohar is an active member of Life Science Angels, a premier angel investment group investing in medical devices, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and digital health
Khushbeer Malhotra, PhD Chief Technical Officer, Script Molecular
Khushbeer Malhotra is a highly experienced molecular diagnostics executive leading the development of Blood screening, Infectious Diseases and Genomics and Oncology solutions from concept to commercialization phase for testing in both centralized laboratories and point of care (POC) settings.
He earned his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Paris, France, and completed his Post-doctoral Fellowship from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he worked under the mentorship of a Nobel laureate, Dr Aziz Sancar. He has launched 21 commercial products and published 57 papers and abstracts in peer-reviewed journals.
Skilled in establishing and maintaining metrics to monitor and improve efficiency, on-time delivery, and product performance with continuous improvement acumen. Khushbeer is goal-oriented, with the ability to lead groups of scientists and engineers, enhance performance, and work on complex projects. He has excellent management, communication, interpersonal, organizational, and multi-tasking skills. With an extensive background in managing teams across USA, Switzerland, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, he has fostered cross-cultural collaboration and achieved impactful product launches. Khushbeer has experience managing multi-million-dollar projects aligning business goals with substantive contributions with cross-functional teams comprising Research, Business, Medical Scientific Affairs, Regulatory, Quality, Finance, Portfolio Program Management and Operations.
Board of Advisors
Manohar Furtado, PhD President, Biology for Global Good
Manohar Furtado is the President of Biology for Global Good, a strategic consulting firm supporting biotech and pharmaceutical companies in policy and product implementation to enhance diagnostics, public health, and safety.
Manohar earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Pune University, completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Molecular Virology at the Northwestern University Medical School, and holds a Business Certification from MIT, Sloane School of Management. He has 15 patents and over 100 peer-reviewed publications.
With over 40 years of leadership experience, Manohar has helped biotech leaders like Applied Biosystems, Celera Dx, Bio-Rad, Cepheid, Thermo Fisher, as well as innovators like Apton Biosystems and LexaGene, bring products to market. As a member of Life Science Angels, he contributes to healthcare improvement by investing in biotech and healthcare.
Vijay Namasivayam, PhD COO, Werfen
Over an impressive career span of 20+ years, Vijay Namasivayam is an expert in biotechnology and medical devices. As COO at Werfen, he drives business growth through strategic planning and execution.
Vijay earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai and his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
An expert in tissue and molecular diagnostics and medical devices, Vijay has held leadership roles as VP, LifeCycle Leader at Roche Tissue Diagnostics and VP, Molecular Franchise at Roche Diagnostics. He then transitioned to rare disease diagnostics, serving as COO at Werfen. Vijay has successfully launched multiple products with startups and industry leaders like BD, Abbott, and Roche and has collaborated with global teams across the USA, Switzerland, Germany, and Spain, fostering innovation and market success.
Slava Elagin, PhD, MBA Healthcare Executive
Slava Elagin is an experienced healthcare executive with a history of achievements at publicly traded and private organizations within the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) industry.
Slava completed his master's degree in genetics from the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, and his Ph.D. from the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology. He then went on to complete his MBA from the Wisconsin School of Business, Madison, WI.
In his more than two decades of experience in the fields of medical devices and biotechnology, Slava has served as the VP of R&D at Third Wave Technologies and Eragen Biosciences. He has also served as the CSO and Executive VP for the R&D division of Meridian Bioscience, and as the COO at MiraVista Diagnostics. Slava brings his advanced knowledge of the IVD industry and professional networks to help and advice on technical, regulatory and scientific matters.
Khushbeer Malhotra, PhD Healthcare Executive
Khushbeer Malhotra is a seasoned molecular diagnostics executive who has led the development of Blood Screening, Infectious Diseases, Genomics, and Oncology solutions from concept to commercialization in centralized labs and POC settings.
After graduating with a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Paris, France, Khushbeer went on to complete a Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of North Carolina where he worked with Nobel laureate, Dr. Aziz Sancar. An accomplished scientist, he has published 57 papers in peer-reviewed journals.
Khushbeer has launched 21 commercial products out of which 11 assays received CE Mark and 10 assays were FDA-cleared. Skilled in efficiency optimization and cross-functional leadership, he has managed multi-million-dollar projects across the USA, Switzerland, Germany, France, and the UK, fostering global collaboration.