Xi Zhao PhD Merck & Co., Inc.

Xi Zhao is an Associate Principal Scientist from Merck & Co. specializing in formulation development and analytical and biophysical characterization for combination products. In her role at Merck, she serves as the drug product lead for pipelines from the early phase to the late phase, covering formulation development, process development, tech transfer etc. During her time at Merck, Xi collaborated with both internal and external teams to investigate formulation impacts on silicone oil leakage from prefilled syringes. She also led external scientific collaboration projects with the University of Washington-Seattle and the University of Pennsylvania to explore particle formation induced by silicone oil in prefilled syringes. Prior to her role at Merck, Xi served as a Co-op at Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN. During this time, she developed orthogonal biophysical characterization methods and applied analytical techniques to understand the degradation pathway of surfactants in various formulation matrices. Throughout her career, she has made significant contributions to the field of biological drug product development, with 16 publications and 3 patents.