Our Leadership
Meet Our Founder and President
Rupal Kalapanda is the Founder and President of Xcellence Advisory, where she leverages 20+ years of biotech leadership to provide fractional executive support, program strategy, and clinical operations guidance. She is passionate about advising companies and investors on trial design, study execution, portfolio management, vendor management, regulatory readiness, and corporate development—drawing on her experience leading global trials, IND/NDA/BLA/MAA submissions, and multi-million-dollar portfolios at small biotech to large pharma to deliver pragmatic solutions with precision and excellence. She holds B.S. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
Outside of her professional work, Rupal enjoys exploring her creative side in the kitchen, traveling to new places, and finding motivation through inspirational podcasts. A devoted dog lover and hiking enthusiast, she also treasures time spent cheering from the sidelines at her daughter’s volleyball games. A lifelong football fan, she follows the New England Patriots with pride.
Notable Accomplishments
- 20+ years of leadership in global clinical development
- Deep therapeutic area expertise spanning oncology, gene therapy/neurology, immune-mediated diseases, cardiovascular, renal, women’s health, diagnostics, and more
- Built and transformed global Clinical Operations teams across the U.S., Europe, and Asia
- Directed global trial portfolios worth up to $500M, consistently delivering on time and under budget
- Successfully led INDs, IDEs, and NDA submissions, resulting in FDA approval of new drugs, devices, and diagnostics
- Developed infrastructure and systems for operational excellence including forecasting, cost modeling, decentralized trials, QMS, and data visualization tools
- Pioneered operational transformations, introducing risk-based quality systems, decentralized trials, and data visualization tools to accelerate decision-making
- Proven track record in vendor negotiation, cost optimization, and ROI maximization
- Spearheaded clinical workstream integration during the company mergers
- Advised VC portfolio companies on clinical program planning using benchmark data and analytics