Hyderabad — Dr. D. Srinivasa Reddy, Director of the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), has been conferred the CRSI Silver Medal by the Chemical Research Society of India, one of the country’s most respected honours for sustained excellence in chemical research, in recognition of his contributions to natural product synthesis, medicinal chemistry and drug discovery.
The award adds to an already decorated career for Reddy, who has spent more than two decades moving between pharmaceutical industry labs and India’s premier public research institutions — a trajectory that has shaped much of his research philosophy around turning fundamental chemistry into usable medicine.
From Osmania to the world stage
Reddy completed his B.Sc and M.Sc at Osmania University before earning a PhD in synthetic organic chemistry from the University of Hyderabad under noted chemist Goverdhan Mehta in 2000. He then spent two years in postdoctoral work at the University of Chicago and the University of Kansas before returning to India, where his career took him through Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Advinus Therapeutics, and the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune, gathering seven years of pharmaceutical industry experience along the way. He took over as Director of CSIR-IICT in June 2022, and has since also held additional charge of two sister CSIR institutes — the Institute of Integrative Medicine in Jammu and the Central Drug Research Institute in Lucknow.
Chemistry aimed at the clinic
Reddy is best known scientifically for what’s called the “silicon-switch approach” in medicinal chemistry — a strategy that involves swapping carbon atoms for silicon in drug-like molecules to fine-tune their properties, such as how they’re broken down in the body or how effectively they cross biological barriers like the blood-brain barrier. Applying this and related synthetic strategies, his group has completed total syntheses of more than 50 natural products, several achieved for the first time, and has pushed several early-stage drug leads forward: a compound called Silinezolid identified for its favorable brain-to-plasma ratio in treating brain infections, novel mosquito repellents, and early leads for antimalarial and metabolic-disorder therapies.
His most tangible industry success came during his time at Advinus Therapeutics, where a molecule called Licogliflozin, discovered under his leadership as project lead, advanced into human Phase-II clinical trials — a rare and concrete marker of translational impact for an academic-industry chemist. Beyond drug discovery, his lab’s work extends into crop protection, including methods for synthesizing enantiopure pheromones used in pest management.
Across his career, Reddy has authored more than 160 research papers and holds numerous patents, with his research consistently straddling the line between fundamental organic synthesis and application-driven chemistry for human and agricultural health.
A career already lined with honours
The CRSI Silver Medal follows a long list of recognitions for Reddy, including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize — one of India’s highest science awards — the J.C. Bose National Fellowship from India’s Department of Science and Technology, and fellowships of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, India. He previously received the CRSI’s own Bronze Medal in 2015, alongside the NASI-Reliance Industries Platinum Jubilee Award and the Central Drug Research Institute’s Award for Excellence in Drug Research.
What the medal represents
Established by the Chemical Research Society of India, the CRSI Silver Medal recognises scientists who have shown sustained, high-impact contributions across the chemical sciences, and is regarded within India’s research community as a marker of both scientific depth and enduring influence in the field. CSIR-IICT, the Hyderabad-based institute Reddy now leads, is one of India’s oldest national laboratories, tracing its roots to 1944, and has built its reputation on translating laboratory chemistry into industrial and pharmaceutical technologies.
In a statement, the CSIR-IICT fraternity congratulated Reddy on the recognition, calling it well-deserved and expressing hope for his continued contributions to advancing chemical sciences and technology in India.
