An accomplished business leader with over two decades of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, Raj Prabhakar serves as the Chief Business Officer and Senior Vice President at Rocket Pharmaceuticals. He leads business operations and corporate strategy with an emphasis on developing gene and cell therapies for pediatric rare diseases. At Rocket, Raj Prabhakar is responsible for partnerships, licensing, and strategic forecasting for a range of programs targeting conditions including Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency-I, BAG-3 heart failure, and Danon disease.
Before joining Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Prabhakar held senior positions at Caladrius Biosciences, where he oversaw global business development for multiple cell therapy programs in immune-oncology and cardiac regeneration. He also spent nearly a decade at Celsion Corporation, where he managed oncology and gene therapy programs from early clinical phases through late-stage trials. Earlier in his career, he contributed to commercialization and vaccine development initiatives at PATH Vaccine Development Program, Osiris Therapeutics, and Protiveris.
Mr. Prabhakar earned dual bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He conducted research in biomaterials and tissue engineering at Harvard Medical School. He later obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School. In addition to his corporate work, Mr. Prabhakar participates in Harvard alumni organizations and remains active in efforts to advance gene and cell therapy research for rare and pediatric diseases.