Neelesh Sali has joined the clintech company Saama Technologies as head-Europe and APAC and managing director for India. In this role, he will oversee all aspects of the clintech company's business in Europe and APAC and manage its operations in India.

"Neelesh is a proven leader with a track record of success in delivering growth and operational excellence," said Vivek Sharma, chief executive officer of Saama Technologies. "His appointment reflects our commitment to strengthen further our presence in Europe, APAC, and India and serve customers and patients. We are confident that he will be a valuable asset in helping us achieve our long-term goals."

Sali brings 30 years of experience to his new role at Saama. Most recently, he served as head of the global delivery centre at Clarivate Analytics' Science Group. He was also DRG India's managing director, contributing to delivering the company's highest annual revenue growth in 2019. Before that, he was vice president and service Line Leader at Genpact, delivering strong revenue growth for the business in 2017 and 2018.

This is the second high-profile appointment by the US-based clinical analytics company, which has three offices in the America. In June 2022, Vivek Sharma joined Saama as chief executive officer, succeeding its founder Suresh Katta who was elevated to the chairman position. 

Last year, investors led by The Carlyle Group bought a majority stake in the health tech company with an investment of up to $430 million. Saama claimed that this deal would help it expand its marketing and sales capabilities and help it further invest in artificial intelligence (AI) research and development.

Founded in 1997, Saama develops life science solutions that accelerate clinical and commercial development. It has offices in Pune and Chennai in India and outposts in London, Warsaw and Solothurn. 

More than 50 biotech and pharma companies use its Life Science Analytics Cloud (LSAC) platform to accelerate over 1,500 studies. This includes the clinical trial that led to the world's first COVID-19 vaccine. 

This August, Saama announced a multi-year agreement with Merck to build and operationalise a new clinical data layer leveraging its LSAC to strengthen the pharma company's clinical development capabilities and expedite pipeline progress.