Distinguished Research Alumnus

Mahesh Kumar, MS, PhD 

Senior Vice President, Global Biologics R&D - Zoetis Inc.

Mahesh Kumar, MS, PhD, received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from India. He moved to the United States to pursue his postgraduate education in Microbiology. He obtained his Master of Science degree from the University of Maine and his PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1990. After graduation, Dr. Kumar was hired by Maine Biological Laboratories in R&D. During his tenure at Maine Biological Labs, he developed several key products including live and inactivated Salmonella vaccines and the bursal tissue origin line of infectious bursal disease virus containing vaccines among others. After 7 years at MBL where he was the Head of R&D and Regulatory Affairs, he moved to Fort Dodge Animal Health.

At Fort Dodge, he led the global poultry research and development activities licensing several key products for the food safety, hatchery and breeder segments. Notable vaccines developed by Dr. Kumar are E. coli and avian influenza including a global approval for use against  the Asian H5N1 strain. He has several publications in avian health and is an inventor or co-inventor on several patents.

In 2007, he moved to the Netherlands to head the regional technical office responsible for (Europe, Africa, and the Middle East EuAfME) approvals of pharmaceutical and biological products for all species. He was also part of the regional management team providing guidance and diligence on all technical R&D issues.

After the merger with Pfizer, Dr. Kumar was appointed to lead a new line dedicated to biologics research in animal health based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In 2013, Pfizer spun off the animal health division as Zoetis where he currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Global Biologics R&D responsible for the development of biologics in all species including vaccines against emerging infectious diseases.