Scientific Director, Zeeh Pharmaceutical Experiment Station
2119 Rennebohm Hall
Phone: 608-890-1859
Email Mark Sacchetti
Mark Sacchetti earned his Ph.D. in 1992 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy, where he worked with Professor George Zografi, studying viscoelastic properties of monolayers at the air-water interface. Since graduating, Mark has worked in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Mark started his industrial career at GlaxoSmithKline (then Glaxo), where he developed formulations of inhaled powders, and subsequently applied his passion for physical chemistry to the physicochemical characterization of NCEs and excipients used in oral and parenteral dosage forms. At GSK, Mark reached the position of Manager of Physical Properties & Developability, where his group examined the physical properties of materials, developed and validated methods, and set appropriate specifications when needed for processing and product performance. Mark worked at Genentech for a short time, helping to establish their small molecule preformulation/formulation group.
At the Lenor Zeeh Pharmaceutical Experiment Station, Mark is the Scientific Director in which role he oversees scientific and technical aspects of contract and grant-based programs in drug discovery and development for clients on and off the UW-Madison campus. He supervises Station laboratory staff, provides technical training and serves as faculty for Station-offered short courses in drug development.
Mark's scientific interests span the gamut of solution and solid state physical properties of materials pertaining to drug development, which include acid-base dissociation equilibria, solubility, partitioning, solid form generation and characterization, and stability.
In his educational role at the School of Pharmacy, Mark teaches the relevance of physicochemical properties of drugs and excipients to lead optimization, candidate selection and formulation development. The Zeeh Station laboratory serves to train students in pharmaceutical development through work on industrial projects and interactions with Station staff, gaining experience in industrial experimental methods, equipment and problem solving.