Phanesh Koneru Ph.D., LL.M, is the Founder, President and CEO of Exela Pharma Sciences. He also serves as the company’s General Counsel and is a member of the Exela Leadership Team.
Phanesh founded Exela on the belief that life-saving prescription drugs should be accessible, affordable and of the highest quality. He founded Exela in 2005 as an R&D organization (CRO), developing and partnering products with leading injectable manufacturers. Exela became a CDMO and launched its first FDA product in 2012. The first Exela labeled product was on the market in 2015. Phanesh led the company’s evolution from CRO to fully functioning pharmaceutical manufacturer. Exela’s cGMP facilities today employ more than 500 employees dedicated to producing and marketing life-saving, sterile injectable products.
Before founding Exela, Phanesh was Vice President, Intellectual Property at Watson Pharmaceuticals (later sold to Allergan & Teva). Prior to that, he worked at law firms in New York and Palo Alto, CA. Phanesh actually began his professional career as a registered pharmacist in California where he worked for twelve years.
Phanesh holds a Ph.D. in Biomedicinal Chemistry from the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy, a Juris Doctor (J.D) from the University of San Diego School of Law and a Master of Laws (LL.M) with high honors from Columbia University School of Law.
Under Phanesh’s leadership Exela has received a number of manufacturing and supply chain excellence awards including the 2017 NCMFG Manufacturing Leadership Award presented by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, the 2013 Caldwell Economic Development Commission Industry of the Year Award and was honored with the Business North Carolina Magazine 2019 Economic Development Guide cover story. Phanesh was named in May of 2021 one of North Carolina’s Most Influential Leaders in Health Sciences by Business North Carolina.