The DCAT Alliance for Industry Women Podcast, dedicated to kicking off Women’s History Month, is presented by the DCAT Alliance for Industry Women Committee, a collective group of women responsible for programs and special events that create opportunities to educate, inform and inspire the women in the pharmaceutical industry.

Women’s History Month

In this must-listen first episode, Zuzana Jorova of oncomed manufacturing a.s. leads a compelling conversation with Dr. Sigma Mostafa of KBI Biopharma, Inc. about the experiences, challenges, and successes of women in the pharmaceutical industry.

Listen below.

About Zuzana Jorova

Zuzana is a marketing and sales professional with growing expertise in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries.  

For nearly six years, she has been a part of CDMO oncomed manufacturing, the member of medac group. In her current role as Marketing and Sales Manager, she is responsible for business development, marketing, and branding activities. Beyond her role at oncomed manufacturing, Zuzana actively contributes to the Life Sciences 4.0 cluster, where she is responsible for public relations and marketing. She is also a member of the DCAT Alliance for Industry Women Committee, which contributes to initiatives that empower women in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries

About Sigma Mostafa, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer

Sigma Mostafa is a highly experienced biopharmaceutical executive with a track record of driving growth and market expansion, building high performance organizations, and transforming organizational culture.  She has extensive technical and management expertise in cell line and process development, tech transfer, validation, and clinical and commercial manufacturing.

Sigma is currently the Chief Scientific Officer at KBI Biopharma.  She was previously KBI’s Senior Vice President and Site Head for its largest site and led the site through unparalleled growth and  a successful Pre-licensure Inspection. As KBI’s Chief Scientific Officer, she leverages her rich technical expertise in analytics, cell line development, and process development to lead KBI’s innovation globally. She oversees Analytical Services, Process Development, and Cell Line Development

Sigma started her career at Eli Lilly & Co where she led a Cell Culture Process Development team and the Pilot Plant. .  Sigma spent 3 years as Manager of Cell Culture Process Development at Organon /Diosynth Biotechnology (currently FujiFilm Diosynth), which was part of Merck at the time.  In this role, she led process development, tech transfer, and post-commercialization optimization for mammalian and insect cell cultures.

Sigma earned her Ph.D. in Chemical & Biological Engineering from Northwestern University and her Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin with High Honors.