Ivan Budyak
Senior Director, Analytical Development Biophysical Characterization Eli Lilly and Company
Ivan Budyak, Senior Director of Analytical Development and Biophysical Characterization at Eli Lilly and Company, is a seasoned protein sciences leader with deep expertise across expression, purification, biochemistry, and biophysical analysis. He has extensive experience producing soluble and membrane proteins across multiple expression systems and scaling bacterial fermentation to 200 L. Ivan’s broad analytical toolkit spans chromatography, mass spectrometry, SAXS/SANS, X-ray data collection, and advanced spectroscopic methods. With additional strengths in Python-based bioinformatics, he integrates structural, functional, and biophysical insights to drive molecular understanding and ensure smooth translation from discovery into development. He will speak on connecting discovery insights to development success.
Seminars
Discussion Objectives:
- Examine how discovery, biophysics, and development groups can better align on data expectations, assay design, and molecule risk profiles
- Explore what “good” looks like for a unified biophysical strategy that flows through hit-to-lead, lead optimization, candidate nomination, and IND-enabling stage
- Identify practical quick wins, e.g., earlier aggregation screens, shared risk registers, unified CQAs, or establishing translational biophysics checkpoints, to reduce rework and late-stage surprises
Outcome:
Participants leave with a clearer understanding of how to operationalize an integrated discovery-to-development continuum and actionable ideas for improving their own internal workflows, governance models, and biophysical data strategies.
Discovery and analytical scientists often use similar biophysical tools, but at different stages and for different goals. This workshop brings both groups together to identify how analytical insights can be applied earlier in discovery, and how discovery-stage decisions can better prepare molecules for downstream development.
This session will cover how cutting-edge biophysical tools and strategies can accelerate molecule characterization, inform developability from aggregation to solubility, and stability, to enhance collaboration across discovery and development teams.
Join your peers to collectively discuss:
- Aligning discovery and analytical objectives when using biophysical data to assess stability, aggregation, and solubility
- Mapping where biophysical data from discovery (e.g., binding, conformation, solubility) can feed into analytical development pipelines
- How analytical parameters like viscosity, aggregation propensity, and high concentration stability can inform molecule engineering before handover
- Examples of organizations integrating analytical scientists into discovery teams, exploring what’s working and what still needs solving
- Emerging techniques (mass photometry, micro-ED, nanoDSF) that are closing the gap between early discovery and formulation insight.
Why Take Part?
Leave with a set of actionable strategies to build cross-functional workflows, accelerate candidate assessment, and use biophysical data to design molecules that are both effective and developable.
- How biophysical tools and insights can translate across the discovery to development interface
- Explore how a collaborative, non-siloed approach can prevent delays and allows for smoother handoff from discovery from IND/CMC stage
