Dr Neelima Khairatkar Joshi

Founder & President

Current drugs reflect a paradigm shift emerging from disruptive innovations in Biology, Chemistry and Tech­nology. Alongside therapeutic breakthroughs, a broad­er scientific and strategic shift is seen in the drug discovery research space. There is increased focus on diseases with evolving understanding of biology and high unmet needs such as Neurodegenerative Disorders, Rare Diseases, and Precision Medicine. PROTACs, molecular glues, tri/multi-spe­cific antibodies, miRNA, siRNA, gene editing are front runners as next-generation therapeutics, while further combinations of two modalities into single molecules like antibody-nucleic acid or peptide-drug conjugates are parallelly being explored for better “Risk vs. Benefit”.

New generation therapeutic research is very attractive but requires constant navigation through complex scientific, technological and competitive landscapes. Clients in this sector face challenges due to rapid­ly evolving disease science, therapeutic modalities and design approaches. There is growing reliance on external innovation partnerships across the drug discovery value chain.

Amidst this transformative drug discovery landscape, Promethean Drug Ideas is uniquely positioned to guide cli­ents through these challenges with deep scientific expertise and strategic foresight. Promethean Drug Ideas stands out as a consultancy that supports clients on end-to-end research road map from early discovery ideation to IND/early human studies or tailored to niche need areas.

Founding Vision

Promethean Drug Ideas was established back in 2020 by Dr Neelima Khairatkar Joshi, Founder and President of Promethean Drug Ideas, an established Drug Discovery Research Leader with 30 years of experience. Her vision was to support startups, biotech, academic institutions and investors navigating the complex research roadmap and investments behind innovative therapeutics. Furthermore, the firm was created to meet the rising demand for deep scientific insights amidst dynamic disease biology, shifting therapeutic paradigms and pressing need to address translational gaps.

Operating at the intersection of scientific rigor and strategic foresight, the firm helps clients in gap analysis and accelerates innovative research with clarity, confidence and competitive edge. Under Dr Neelima’s Leadership, the firm's growth is rooted in its core values of scientific integrity, ethical business practices and strict client confidentiality.

Carving a Niche for Itself

Promethean Drug Ideas combines its deep domain expertise with break-through science to deliver customized and competitive drug discovery solutions. With a background of proven track record of advancing several first-in-class and best-in-class molecules to clinical stages and facilitating multi-million dollar out-licensing deals, the firm conducts rigorous, evidence-based evaluations to identify translational gaps and propose early de-risking strategies to maximize bench to bedside translational potential. This integrated approach ensures that each client’s program is scientifically robust and strategically aligned with cutting-edge trends.

Offering end-to-end scientific and technical guidance on entire Small Molecules drug discovery continuum, its other customized core services include scientific and competitive insights on global target and therapeutics pipelines of small molecules, antibodies, peptides, nucleic acids, cell and gene therapy, project blueprints with go/no-go criteria and Target Product Profiles (TPPs). Additional consultations span combinatorial targeting strategies, AI-enabled drug discovery, drug repurposing, and biomarker strategies. Through this comprehensive and tailored approach, the firm empowers clients to overcome key drug discovery hurdles and enhance likelihood of bench to bedside translation. Furthermore, the firm also evaluates in/out-licensing opportunities for branded molecules.

Facilitating End-to-End Expertise

Promethean Drug Ideas is driven by a highly experienced team of drug discovery professionals, each with 15–25 years of hands-on expertise and a proven background track record of discovering and eventually advancing multiple small-molecule INDs. The team brings deep domain knowledge in the broad therapeutic spectrum of chronic diseases, oncology and precision medicine to provide drug discovery research guidance. Its services include therapeutic area orientation & disease endotypes, first-in-class/best-in-class target evaluation, early risk identification and mitigation strategies, preclinical road­maps with data-driven decision gates. Team specializes in designing in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo translational studies & identifying specialized CRO partners.

In addition, the team supports cross-functional milestones including translational biomarker development for PK-PD modeling, biomarker studies in human proof-of-mechanism and proof-of-concept studies and preparing NME out-licensing data packages. “Our cross-disciplinary, collaborative approach ensures that each client program advances efficiently with scientific clarity and a distinct competitive edge”, states Dr Neelima Khairatkar Joshi.

Client-Centric Approach

Promethean Drug Ideas builds long-term, trust-driven relationships by aligning precisely with client goals and dynamic nature of drug pipelines. The firm emphasizes deep listening and tailored engagement to provide highly relevant scientific and strategic input.

Support is calibrated to the stage of each asset, right from early discovery through preclinical development. This includes flexible reporting formats, detailed bibliographies and periodic updates tailored by molecule, target or annual review.

Additionally, the firm adopts a flexible tech-agnostic approach, integrating cutting-edge tools based on specific project needs. The firm connects clients with a broad network of CROs, drug design platforms, academic collaborators, facilitating seamless integration of advanced technologies into the consulting process. This ensures that clients benefit from the best available resources to accelerate its programs.

A Robust Future Roadmap

Promethean Drug Ideas stays at the forefront in the science-intensive drug discovery space by keeping current with emerging trends. The firm's mission is to stay ahead of the learning curve, enabling clients to create research roadmaps rooted in updated, competitive science. To align with shifts in the pharma R&D landscape, the firm is expanding into new therapy areas like rare diseases and emerging modalities including PROTACs, 3D organoids and microbiome-based therapeutics.

In response to declining predictability of animal models and evolving regulatory guidance, Promethean is enhancing its expertise in next-generation in vitro systems such as 3D models, organoids and patient-derived systems. These efforts ensure that our consultations offer future-ready solutions.