Francis Miller Lecture to explore global pathway from molecule to medicine

Just how does a scientific discovery in a lab become a medicine that is available worldwide?

Anamitro Banerjee, director of global chemistry, manufacturing and controls regulatory affairs at AstraZeneca, will discuss that journey at the 13th annual Francis Miller Lecture at 5:30 p.m. March 31 in Bailey Rotunda F.

Hosted by South Dakota State University’s College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions, Banerjee will present on “Crafting the Cure: Journey from Molecule to Medicine Across FDA and EMA.” His talk will provide a broad overview of what it takes to get from the lab to the market, including meeting the requirements and regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency.

“This lecture will be an introduction into the overall process of bringing a drug to market, including a discussion on how clinical trials actually work,” Banerjee said.

Banerjee brings a global perspective on the process, a perspective shaped by extensive experience across regulatory agencies and industries. At biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, Banerjee leads end‑to‑end strategy for small‑molecule medicines, guiding products from early investigation through market applications. Previously, he served as branch chief in the Office of Pharmaceutical Quality at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and was a tenured faculty at the Department of Chemistry at the University of North Dakota.

“As part of the lecture, I want us to have time to have discussions and interactions about what happens in this process — what does it all really mean and how does it all really work,” Banerjee said.

The Francis Miller Lecture is made possible by funding from the Francis Miller Fund, an endowment established by Francis J. Miller, a longtime pharmacist and drugstore owner in South Dakota. Miller, who passed away in 1987, often engaged with short courses made available by SDSU’s College of Pharmacy, and his daughter, Frances Miller Anderson, was a 1959 graduate of SDSU in physics. Miller’s legacy supports pharmacy research and educational programs.

For more information on the lecture, email Kyle Laporte, associate professor of pharmacy practice at SDSU and a clinical pharmacist at Avera Cancer Institute.