About Us
The William D. and Sherry L. Young Institute for the Advanced Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals is dedicated to innovative research and education that improves access to medicines, reduces costs and supports economic development locally and nationally.
Recognition
We’re pathfinders in the process of making medicines
Our Mission
We’re committed to research and education to support pharmaceutical manufacturing
The mission of the Young Institute is to advance pharmaceutical manufacturing by providing innovative research and industrially relevant education and training to reduce costs, improve access to medicines, and support economic development in the state, region and country.
Why onshoring of pharmaceutical manufacturing is vital
In the past, many U.S. pharmaceutical companies located manufacturing plants overseas to reach new markets, expand capacity and control production costs. Today, the U.S. is experiencing significant disruptions in its pharmaceutical supply chains and record-breaking shortages of critical medicines. Onshoring pharmaceutical manufacturing has been suggested as a solution.
For onshoring to succeed, however, we must achieve domestic production of low cost, high-quality medicines in sufficient quantities to meet demand. This requires nothing less than a revolution in pharmaceutical manufacturing. The Young Institute is committed to driving manufacturing innovation and providing industrially relevant training to enable this revolution.
Our History
About William D. and Sherry L. Young
The Young Institute was established in 2022 by a generous bequest to Purdue University from William D. Young and his wife, Sherry L. Young. William received his BS in chemical engineering from Purdue in 1966. After 14 years at Eli Lilly, he moved to Genentech, where he and his team developed the manufacturing process for the first recombinant human insulin (Humulin®), a significant breakthrough in pharmaceutical manufacturing that launched the biotech revolution.
Meet our team
We’re dedicated to making America’s pharmaceutical industry more efficient.
Our advisory council
The Young Institute’s Advisory Council brings expertise, business acumen, regulatory perspectives and technical skills to our mission to improve pharmaceutical manufacturing through research and workforce training.
Robert A. Baffi, president and founder of Baffi Biotech Advisors, a venture partner at Samsara BioCapital, and former president of global manufacturing and technical operations for BioMarin Pharmaceutical for 23 years. He also is co-author of the book, “Making a Habit of Quality: How Technical Operations Paved the Way for BioMarin’s Success.”
Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr., the 12th president of Purdue University and 49th governor of Indiana, who also served as director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in the George W. Bush administration. Earlier, he held two positions with Eli Lilly and Company — president of North American operations and senior vice president for corporate strategy and policy.
Michael A. Klobuchar, chief operating officer for Eikon Therapeutics, Inc., leads the biotech company’s corporate infrastructure, including global supply chain management and product manufacturing, and manages key executives across Eikon Systems, IT, facilities, and business operations across the enterprise. He previously served as executive vice president and chief strategy officer for Merck & Co., Inc., and as senior vice president and chief financial officer for Merck Research Laboratories, where he led its Global Portfolio and Alliance Management group, among other roles across the entire company. He received his BS in chemical engineering from Purdue in 1998.
Moheb M. Nasr, principal with Nasr Pharma Regulatory Consulting, who previously served as vice president of chemistry, manufacturing, controls and regulatory strategy for GlaxoSmithKline and as director of the Office of New Drug Quality Assessment for the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
William D. Young, whose significant contribution established the Purdue institute named for him and his wife in June 2022, is a senior advisor for Blackstone Life Sciences. He also is chairman of NanoString Technologies and a board member of Praxis Precision Medicines and Autolus Therapeutics. He previously served as chief executive officer of Monogram Biosciences and chief operating officer of Genentech after serving in various roles at Eli Lilly and Company at the start of his career. He earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering at Purdue in 1966 and received an honorary doctorate in engineering from Purdue in 2000. He also was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in recognition of his contributions to biotechnology.
Support and Collaboration
The Young Institute is one of Purdue’s interdisciplinary Institutes and Centers at Discovery Park District, which bring together researchers across disciplines to advance large-scale research and drive innovations to solve the world’s most critical problems. Support for the Institutes and Centers is provided by Purdue’s Office of Research. The Young Institute also appreciates support from three Purdue colleges: Engineering, Pharmacy and Science.
