Bristol Myers Squibb, a global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing, and delivering innovative medicines for patients with serious diseases, has announced that Sayali Saykhedkar has joined the company as Associate Director, Bioanalysis and Companion Diagnostics. The appointment brings more than a decade of bioanalytical leadership across diverse therapeutic modalities to BMS’s growing bioanalysis and diagnostics organization.
About Sayali Saykhedkar
Saykhedkar joins Bristol Myers Squibb as the company continues advancing a broad, 50-compound pipeline spanning more than 40 disease areas, work that depends heavily on rigorous bioanalytical and companion diagnostic support to move new medicines through development. Her background spans pharmacokinetic and immunogenicity assay development across monoclonal antibodies, gene therapy, antibody-drug conjugates, bispecific proteins, vaccines, and small molecules, giving her the cross-modality expertise well suited to supporting BMS’s diverse and growing portfolio.
Most recently, Saykhedkar spent five years at Spark Therapeutics, where she served as Manager, Regulated Bioanalysis, leading a team of scientists in developing and validating PK, biomarker, enzyme activity, and immunogenicity assays supporting preclinical and clinical gene therapy programs targeting rare and neurodegenerative diseases. In that role, she provided scientific and technical direction, oversaw CRO partnerships, and supported regulatory submissions and clinical trial start-ups, building on an earlier stint at the company as Senior Bioanalytical Scientist.
Before Spark, she served as Principal Investigator at WuXi AppTec, where she independently designed and executed large molecule pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity, biomarker, and flow cytometry method development and validation, while also training and supervising junior scientists.
Earlier in her career, Saykhedkar held bioanalytical and analytical development roles at Advaxis and EnzymatiX Corp, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute in partnership with Synergy Pharmaceuticals, where she developed cell-based bioassays to characterize potency and mechanism of action for a class of synthetic peptides being studied against colon cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. She holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Oklahoma State University, a Master of Science in Bioprocess Technology from Mumbai University’s Institute of Chemical Technology, and a Bachelor of Pharmacy from Pune University. She currently serves as an IRB Committee Member at Fox Chase Cancer Center, contributing to the ethical review of human subjects research.
Announcing her new role, Saykhedkar reflected on the support that helped her get there: “[I am grateful for everyone who supported, guided, and encouraged me through the process — your kindness truly meant a lot. Looking forward to this next chapter and staying connected.”
About Bristol Myers Squibb
Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop, and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. The company’s pipeline spans more than 50 compounds across over 40 disease areas, with a long-standing focus on oncology, immuno-oncology, cardiovascular disease, and immune disorders. Bristol Myers Squibb has recently emphasized a structural R&D transformation aimed at accelerating molecule identification and clinical cycle times through AI and automation, alongside disciplined capital allocation to support sustainable, long-term growth. Headquartered in New York City, the company employs tens of thousands of colleagues worldwide in pursuit of its mission to transform patients’ lives through science.
