Bruce Variano

Bruce Variano is a senior scientist and head of pharmaceutical development at the Population Council’s Center for Biomedical Research. Variano leads the development of drug-delivery methods for the Council’s contraceptive technologies. He oversees product development within the Council’s laboratories and directs the manufacturing of reproductive health products for clinical trials. Variano also identifies contracting partners to scale up production to conduct clinical trials, with the goal of bringing innovative technologies to women and men in developing countries at affordable costs.

Variano is responsible for developing processes that permit the large-scale manufacture of the Council’s one-year Nestorone®/ethinyl estradiol contraceptive vaginal ring (NES/EE CVR), which includes validating and developing analytical methods, transferring the ring technology to a contract manufacturer, and creating standard operating procedures for testing the NES/EE CVR. Variano also creates processes that meet Good Manufacturing Process (GMP) standards for product development, and assists with GMP audits of domestic and foreign pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities.

Since joining the Council in 2003, Variano has been the primary liaison with pharmaceutical companies for product licensing, setting active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) specifications, and has investigated new formulations to improve drug delivery for the Council’s ring technologies. He oversees clinical trial material manufacturing of the Council’s male contraceptive technologies, including the long-acting, reversible contraceptive MENT®.

Before joining the Council, Variano worked at Emisphere Technologies as an associate director and project feasibility leader for the development of drug-delivery products. Variano earned his PhD in physical chemistry at New York University.