Our Team

Ishwar Chauhan, President

Mr. Chauhan is a Co-Founder and President of AptaPharma Inc. As the head of Administration and Finance, he oversees the Human Resources and Finance departments. In this role, he mainly focuses on financing strategies, analysis, forecasting and budget management.

Mr. Chauhan also serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Quikflex Circuit Inc., a PCB Mfg. company. He handles new developments and new technology upgrades while coordinating and obtaining all federal, state, and local regulatory approvals. In addition, he works as a Founding Partner of Summit Laboratories, where he has served since 1995.

Previously, Mr. Chauhan served as a Production Manager of Quikline Design and Manufacturing, where he handled complete production management, including the complete programming of CNC machines and photo plotting.

Mr. Chauhan is a graduate of the University of Bombay, India where he received Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Master of Science in Organic Chemistry.

Dr. Siva Rama Krishna Nutalapati, Executive Vice President, Generics and Technology Development

Dr. Nutalapati is a Co-Founder and Vice President of Generics and Technology Development at AptaPharma Inc. He has over 20 years of managerial and technical experience in brand, generic and consumer health pharmaceuticals and has successfully developed, submitted, and launched several unique generic and paragraph IV drug products.

Dr. Nutalapati is responsible for managing entire Generics and Technology Development departments including Research and Development, Strategy development, Product selection, Execution of New Product Portfolio, Manufacturing, Regulatory Affairs, Business Development, Sales and Marketing.

He is also responsible for Technical leadership, Intellectual property development, Novel drug delivery technologies, managing numerous internal and external R&D alliances and Joint venture projects within US and International Pharmaceutical companies.

Dr. Nutalapati has received 6 U.S. patents and he is the inventor and author of more than 16 patents, patent-publications and proprietary technologies in the field of pharmaceutical Sciences.

Previously, Dr. Nutalapati worked as Manager of Formulation Research and Development at URL Pharma (formerly Mutual Pharmaceuticals). In this capacity, he developed two proven technology platforms, successfully evaluated and developed several line extension scenarios for NDA projects.

He received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Long Island University, New York, M.S. in Pharmaceutics from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, India, and Bachelor of Pharmacy from V.L. College of Pharmacy, India.

Rakeshkumar Lad, Executive Vice President

Rakesh Lad is a Co-Founder and Vice President of Generic and Consumer Healthcare at AptaPharma Inc. He is responsible for managing the Generic and Consumer Healthcare division, leading Analytical and Business development departments.

Mr. Lad oversees the division’s operations including procurement, qualification, implementation of quality systems, manufacturing suites and manages the sales team. He has participated in several successful FDA inspections of the company.

Mr. Lad has over 25 years of industrial experience in generic and consumer healthcare. Previously, he worked as manager of Analytical Research and Development at URL Pharma (formerly Mutual Pharmaceuticals). In this position, he oversaw Analytical development and Analytical Technology development laboratories, while preparing supporting documentation for the Regulatory Affairs department for ANDA, IND, and NDA submissions. He is also Co-Inventor of four patent applications and involved in key projects that led to the approval by the FDA for the company’s first paragraph IV filing.

Prior to that, Mr. Lad was involved in the startup of the company, AccuMed Inc, where he oversaw regulatory affairs, manufacturing control, analytical and research and development for OTC products. Mr. Lad also has experience serving as an Analytical Chemist for Sidmak Laboratories.

A graduate of South Gujarat University, Mr. Lad holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and a Master of Science degree in Organic Chemistry.

Prahlad M. Patel, M.D., Executive Vice President

Dr. Prahlad M. Patel, MD is a Co-Founder and Vice President at AptaPharma Inc. Dr. Patel is board certified in internal medicine and has over 30 years of clinical experience. His extensive clinical expertise and knowledge about clinical trials, is important for product development, discovery of novel drug delivery methods, and creation of innovative drug combinations at AptaPharma.

Dr. Patel currently practices internal medicine at Cross-Keys Medical Center in Sicklerville, New Jersey. In addition to his private practice, Dr. Patel is an attending physician at the Jefferson Health System New Jersey. He is also President of the Atlantic Health Center, PC, an internal medicine practice in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Dr. Patel graduated from Baroda Medical College and completed his residency in internal medicine at the Catholic Medical Center, New York City, NY. Previously, Dr. Patel served as a medical attending at St. John’s Queens Hospital in New York City, NY teaching and supervising medical residents.