Ms. Jin Hua ZHANG is a highly experienced securities lawyer with a successful track record in investment banking and leading securities law firms. With a background in overseeing IPOs and M&A projects for Chinese companies, she has extensive expertise in domestic A-share restructurings and listings on major stock exchanges worldwide, including the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, and the Toronto Stock Exchange. She has led nearly 20 M&A projects for publicly listed companies and facilitated the listings of numerous companies both domestically and internationally. Ms. Zhang made an angel investment in an early-stage company focused on CAR-T research in 2015 and served as a board member. She holds a master’s degree in law from Dongbei University of Finance and Economics.
In 2017, Ms. Zhang founded IASO Bio with a mission to "focus on innovative biological therapies, to bring hope of a cure to patients," dedicated to addressing unmet medical needs in China and worldwide. Under her leadership, IASO Bio has become a leading company in cell and gene therapy, with comprehensive capabilities spanning early drug discovery, clinical research and development, regulatory registration to commercialization. The company also boasts a top-tier fully human antibody library platform and successfully launched the blockbuster CAR-T product, FucasoTM in 2023.
Accolades:
Selected for the 2024 China’s New Drug Pioneer Award 20 Years · 20 People
Selected for the 2024 Fortune China’s Most Powerful Women in Business Future List
Dr. Yongke Zhang serves as the Chief Scientific Officer at IASO Bio, bringing with him a distinguished track record and profound academic foundation in biopharmaceutical research and development. With over 20 years of R&D experience in biopharmaceuticals and nearly a decade of expertise in oncology and autoimmune disease diagnosis, treatment, and clinical research, Dr. Zhang is a seasoned leader in the field.
Prior to joining IASO Bio, Dr. Zhang gained extensive experience in the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry. He was the co-founder and Chief Scientist of Abcyte Therapeutics, where he spearheaded multiple antibody and multifunctional CAR-T projects, including the development of Narsoplimab injection for the Chinese market. Additionally, he co-founded and served as Senior Director of R&D at Apenexigen, where he led the development of the CD40 agonist immunomodulatory antibody (sotigalimab) aimed at treating advanced pancreatic cancer.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Zhang was the Director of Therapeutic Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody Development at Epitomics, where he oversaw the development of several antibody drugs, including the successful market introduction of the rabbit-derived antibody Brolucizumab. During his tenure at PDL Biopharma (now AbbVie), he worked as a Senior Scientist and Group Leader, contributing to the development of several antibody drugs, most notably Elotuzumab, which successfully reached the market.
Dr. Zhang earned a joint M.D. degree in Clinical Medicine from Peking Medical University and Chiba University in Japan, a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Tokyo, and completed his postdoctoral research at the DNAX Research Institute (now Merck Research Laboratories) in the United States.
Mr. Hua Zhang serves as the Chief Commercial Officer at IASO Bio. He is a leader with profound insight and significant influence in pharmaceutical marketing, bringing over 20 years of experience in managing marketing and sales departments within the pharmaceutical industry. Mr. Zhang has accumulated extensive practical experience, particularly in the launch and promotion of innovative oncology drugs. Prior to joining IASO Bio, he was the Deputy Chief Commercial Officer at Fosun Kite Biotechnology, where he led the team to successfully launch Yescarta, the first CAR-T therapy approved in China. Before that, he held several key positions, including Specialty Medicine Sales Director at Bayer Pharmaceuticals, North China Marketing Director at Merck Serono, and Sales Director for Pfizer Oncology, where he spearheaded market promotion and commercial operations for the companies' products.
Mr. Zhang holds a Bachelor's degree in Pharmacology from Shanghai Medical College and an MBA from Fudan University.
Dr. Jie Chen is the Chief Medical Officer at IASO Bio. He has 14 years of experience as an oncologist and over 20 years in the industry. Before joining IASO Bio, Dr. Chen was the Chief Medical Officer at Northland Biologics, where he successfully led the IND application and approval for China's first universal CAR-T product. As Vice President and Head of Medical Affairs at Takeda China, he played a pivotal role in the launch of several new drugs and was deeply involved in the development of the TAK-007 (CAR-NK) product in China. Prior to this, he served as Senior Medical Affairs Director at BMS China, Medical Affairs Director at Pfizer China, and Senior Scientist at 3V Bio.
Dr. Chen holds a Ph.D. from the Army Medical University and completed his postdoctoral research at Fudan University. He is an active member of the CSCO Tumor Biomarker Expert Committee, CSCO Cancer Immunotherapy Expert Committee, an honorary member of the CACA Oncology Drug Research Professional Committee, a member of the CSCO Translational Medicine Expert Committee, and a member of the Jiangsu Pharmaceutical Association's Drug Clinical Evaluation Research Professional Committee.
