Ashokkumar (Ashok) Deenabandu
Medical Director
Ashok Deenabandu MD is a Medical Director for Oncology at Fortrea, based in India supporting Asia-Pacific and EU region. With over 20 years of experience-including 14 years in global clinical development-Ashok has led numerous drug and device trials across leading CROs and product companies. He has served as Medical Lead for multiple global studies for both large pharmaceutical sponsors and emerging biotech firms.
His domain expertise includes both Immuno oncology and Cell/gene therapies, with focussed interest in lung cancer,hepatocellular carcinoma,gastric cancer,sarcoma,radiopharmaceuticals-in neuroendocrine,prostate cancers and early-phase trials involving CAR-T and CAR-NK cell therapies targeting solid tumors.
As a core member of the Global Oncology Team at Fortrea, he focuses on advancing clinical operations in India and the Asia-Pacific region. His role integrates scientific leadership with strategic oversight, supporting regulatory compliant trial design, cross-functional process optimization, and engagement with investigators and key opinion leaders (KOLs) to ensure successful study delivery.Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a consistent ability to translate regulatory insights into actionable business strategy, supporting global submission efforts, and shape internal frameworks that enhance operational excellence and client engagement.
Ashok is board certified Physician with specialist training in Radiology and Clinical Oncology from TN Dr MGR Medical University,India.He has also completed Fellowship in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of New South Wales, and holds an advanced training credential in Cell and Gene Therapy from Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine/ACTRIS, Singapore, thereby broadening his expertise in translational research and cutting-edge therapeutic modalities.