Speaker Bios

The following speakers will speak at the ChinaBio^® Investor Forum 2011 - Jinan. (See Detailed Agenda.)

Jun Bao,BS, PhD, Head of China, GlaxoSmithKline

Dr. Jun Bao has substantial experiences in drug discovery and development, technology transfer, licensing and business development, corporate finance, entrepreneurship and venture. He is currently Head of China, Worldwide Business Development in GlaxoSmithKline. Previously he was a Director of Corporate Development and Financial Planning in Onyx Pharmaceuticals, a mid-size biotech company focusing in cancer therapy. Prior to Onyx, he was an Associate Director of Business Development in ICOS Corporation based in Seattle. At ICOS, he was responsible for licensing and business development activities in oncology. Prior to ICOS he was a Senior Manager of Business Development in Cell Therapeutics, Inc., a Seattle-based oncology biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Bao also worked as a finance manager in Procter & Gamble based in Cincinnati. Dr. Bao received a BS in Microbiology from Shandong University and a PhD in Neuroscience from University of Kansas. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship in Johns Hopkins University. In addition, he received an MBA in Finance from University of Chicago. He started two companies and has 22 scientific publications.

Jennifer Hu, PhD, Director of Licensing & External Research, Merck & Co., Inc., USA

Dr. Jennifer Hu is responsible for identifying and developing new product and technology opportunities in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan for Merck in the area of partnership, licensing-in, and acquisition. Prior to joining Merck, Dr. Hu spent three years at Roche Palo Alto as Research Leader, heading Functional Biology applying and developing new technologies towards assessment of drug targets and new compounds, following a role as Palo Alto Leader of Toxicogenomics. Prior to that, Dr. Hu worked at Affymetrix in various capacities, including establishing and managing programs with both pharmaceutical and academic partners to demonstrate the application of Affymetrix GeneChip technology in Toxicology/Pharmacogenomics studies. Dr. Hu started her career at Human Genome Sciences, Inc. as a scientist and later as Project Leader of its VEGF-2 Protein Therapeutics Program. She did her post-doctoral research at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Hu earned her Ph.D. from Univ. of Texas & M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and her bachelor's degree from Peking University in Beijing. She has authored 15 papers in peer reviewed journals such as Science, Nature Genetics, and Nature. Dr. Hu is also an inventor of 16 patents and patent applications.

Darren Ji, MD, PhD, CEO and Founder, PharmaLegacy Laboratories

Dr. Darren Ji is the CEO and founder of PharmaLegacy Laboratories, a leading preclinical pharmacology CRO (contract research organization) based in Shanghai. PharmaLegacy is a fast-growing biotech company and provides services to many of the top biopharmaceutical companies worldwide. Previously, Darren was the Director of Bioscience Business Development – East Asia for the Procter & Gamble Company. Darren successfully engineered multiple significant bioscience transactions between P&G and entities in the East Asia region. Darren is a Board Director of the BayHelix Group and was the President of the International Chinese Hard Tissue Society. Darren obtained his MD from China Medical University, China; a PhD from the University of Sheffield, UK; and an MBA from University of Chicago.

Linda Ji, JD, Senior Counsel, Foley & Lardner LLP

Ms. Linda Ji is a member of the International, Transactions & Securities, and Private Equity & Venture Capital Practice Groups, as well as the Emerging Technologies and Life Sciences Industry Teams of Foley & Lardner LLP. Ms. Ji's practice focuses on corporate and securities laws and cross-border transactions. Ms. Ji has advised both privately and publicly held companies (ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies) in a variety of corporate transactional and securities matters, including company setup, private equity and venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, private placement of securities, IPOs and secondary public offerings of securities, as well as public company reporting and securities law compliance. Ms. Ji advises U.S. companies in their business transactions in China and also advises China-based companies in their business transactions in the U.S. 

Wayne Li, PhD, General Project Manager, Morningside Technologies

Dr. Wayne Li has over 18 years of experiences in pharmaceutical and biotech research and development. He joined Morningside Technologies as an Investment Manager in 2007, which focuses heavily on biopharmaceutical and health care investments at early and middle stages. Previously, Dr. Li was the Director of the Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetic Department at Genelabs and Manager of Preclinical Pharmacology Department at Rigel. He also served as a Project Manager in Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department of Covance Laboratories Inc. Dr. Li received his Master of Science degree from Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences and his PhD from Brigham Young University. He did his post-doctor research at Haskell Laboratory for Toxicology and Industrial Medicine of DuPont Company and worked thereafter as a research chemist for more than five years. Through his career, Dr. Li has published more than 30 peer-reviewed papers and given more than 40 presentations on international or national conferences. 

Wenbao Li, PhD, President, Sanlugen PharmaTech Ltd

Dr. Li received his PhD degree in Chemistry from Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1990, and then completed his postdoctoral researches at Rice University and at University of Wisconsin. He worked at Novartis in 1997, and then joined IRORI (later named ChemRx-DPI) focusing on combinatorial library generation and drug discovery. Dr. Li and his group designed and synthesized more than 50,000 compounds based on over fifty scaffolds, and successfully pushed a lead compound to clinical stage to treat diabetes and obesity, which led to $157 million buy-out by Novartis for further development. Since 2007, Dr. Li founded Hilegen International in US and a joint venture Sanlugen PharmaTech in China. Dr. Li has over fifteen years of experiences in medicinal chemistry, organic chemistry, combinatorial chemistry and biochemistry; and has published over 30 papers and over ten patents. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, a member of American Association for Cancer Research, and a Professor in Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2009, Dr. Li was selected as a “QuanCheng Expert” in Jinan City, and as a “TaiShan Expert” in Shandong Province, and also was selected as a National “1000plan” (QianRenJiHua) Expert in 2010. 

Marvin Liu, MD, PhD, President, Shandong Lulikang BioPharm Co. Ltd

Dr. Liu is responsible for providing leadership, direction, and control for all aspects of the company activities in order to realize optimum profits compatible with the best long- and short-term interests of the shareholders, employees, consumers, and public. With over twenty year's studies and working experiences, Dr. Liu has professional pursuit in medical practice, biomedical research and business development. He had his medical degree, and PhD in China, passed medical board examination in the USA and postdoctoral training at Dartmouth College. He found Beijing Elion BioPharm Institute in 2000 and focused on the research and development of biotech and other interested products. Dr Liu is an author and co-author of 35 peer reviewed papers, the inventor and/or applicant of over 60 patents or pending patents, and the principle investigator of 8 projects with Chinese FDA approval. Since the year of 2000, Dr. Liu has become the first person in China to establish the manufacture and commercialization of rapid diagnostic test kit for acute myocardial infarction and sex- selected breeding of diary cows and is appointed as the principle investigator of two national industrial key projects of China. With his outstanding contribution to the biomedical research and development, Dr Liu was recruited into the national top global experts plan-1000plan and awarded as the State Distinguished Expert.

Greg B. Scott - President and Founder, ChinaBio^® LLC

Greg is an entrepreneur, angel investor and business advisor who has helped launch over thirty life science companies in the U.S. and China. He founded ChinaBio^® LLC in January 2007 to identify and develop early stage life science companies in China and has helped raise over $350M in government and VC funding. ChinaBio also works with U.S. and European companies seeking partners, acquisitions and novel technologies in China. ChinaBio has organized ten investment conferences in China in just three years, and will hold its third annual ChinaBio Partnering Forum in Beijing in May, 2011. This international event will draw over 600 attendees from around the globe. Greg is also the president and co-founder of Life Science Angels, an angel investment group that has funded 32 biotechnology and medical device companies in the U.S. and China since 2005, and Executive Editor of the ChinaBio^® Today newsletter. He previously held senior executive positions at Price Waterhouse, Capgemini and MCI, and was co-founder of a 200-person consulting firm. Greg lives and works in Shanghai but visits the U.S. several times a year to enjoy California’s blue sky and sandy beaches.

 Yi Shi, PhD, Managing Director, Lilly Asian Ventures

Dr. Yi Shi joined Lilly Asian Ventures in 2007 as a Managing Director based in Shanghai, China. Prior to the current assignment, he worked in various roles with increasing responsibility over six years at Eli Lilly and Company. His experience includes leading the development of a comprehensive investment strategy for China as well as negotiating multiple biotechnology and pre-clinical deals world-wide. Dr. Shi was also instrumental in the founding of InnoCentive, Inc., a Lilly Ventures portfolio company, where he managed scientific operations as well as its expansion into China. Before joining Lilly, Dr. Shi was the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of NetBig.com, an internet start-up, where he successfully grew the company to become the number one education and technology portal in China. He began his career as a management consultant with Ernst & Young in the Life Science Practice Group and specialized in sales and marketing strategy. Dr. Shi received a PhD in Biochemistry and a Master of Business Administration degree, both from Duke University. He also earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Science and Technology of China.

Ningling Wang, JD, Partner, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP, Shanghai Office

Ningling Wang’s practice involves patent prosecution, opinions, due diligence, client counseling, licensing, and patent litigation in the areas of chemicals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, semiconductor materials, and nanotechnology. She has extensive experience working with multinational and Chinese companies, providing legal advice on IP portfolio management and due diligence. Ms. Wang speaks frequently in conferences and seminars in China and internationally on patent-related topics. She taught a graduate course on U.S. IP law at Renmin University of China Law School and a graduate course on U.S. IP law, with patent mock trial, at Shanghai Jiao Tong University KoGuan Law School. She also serves as a Program Professor of Law at China Science and Technology University. She is the award winner of Mondaq’s January Contributor with most popular article In United States for “Obviousness Developments in U.S. Patent Law” in 2010. 

Frank Wu, PhD, CSO & Senior VP of Project Management, KBP Biosciences Co., Ltd.

Dr. Wu received his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from Wayne State University. Postdoctoral training at Brandeis University. Over 15 years experience in drug discovery and research project leadership in US pharma/biotech companies (Boehringer Ingelheim and Guilford Pharmaceuticals). Experitise in medicinal chemistry, rational drug design, modern organic synthesis and small molecule lead identification and optimization.

Siguo Wang, Director, Jinan High-Tech Business Incubator

Mr. Siguo Wang, Senior Engineer, Director of Jinan High-tech Business Incubator. He has extensive high-tech enterprise management experiences and profound theoretical basis over 19 years working experiences in Jinan High-tech Development Zone. He has served as Director of Jinan High-tech Business Incubator since March, 2010 and create a development idea to convert Jinan High-tech Business Incubator from comprehensive hatch to professional hatch, from cultivating enterprises to incubating strategic new industries. Currently, Mr. Wang is speeding up the development of biological medicine industry in Jinan High-tech Development Zone with his colleagues according to the strategy of “one platform, one base, one park”, which means by building one platform (national comprehensive new drug development technology platform), by expanding “one base” (national innovation drug incubator base), by constructing “one park”(ten thousand mu of biological medicine industry park).

David Xu, PhD, MBA, Managing Partner, Mingly China Growth Fund

David Xu is the Managing Partner of Mingly China Growth Fund. David has over 10 years of investment banking experience in China. Previously, David worked at EBICC, Create Capital, China Fortune Securities and Goldman Sachs. He also worked as a research fellow at Columbia Medical Center for 7 years. David received his BS degree from University of Science & Technology of China, PhD in Microbiology from Columbia University, and MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Stella Xu, PhD - Executive Director, Roche Partnering

Dr. Stella Xu is an Executive Director with Roche Partnering Asia. Her major responsibilities include searching potential licensing opportunities (products / technologies), and supporting transaction discussions & alliance management in Asia. Prior to her current position, Stella had held multiple global positions in Roche Partnering in the US and led more than 30 product-focused due diligence projects and alliances, including the latest two major product licensing deals in Asia. Stella joined Roche from McKinsey & Company US, a premier management consulting firm that provides strategic advices to the top management of global business leaders. At McKinsey, she led consulting engagements with global biopharmaceutical clients in areas ranging from R&D strategy, marketing & sales, to corporate development and M&A activities. Prior to McKinsey, Stella conducted biotech drug discovery work in oncology and inflammation. Stella received her PhD in Immunology and executive MBA training from Northwestern University, and her BS in Biophysics from Peking University.

Tony Zhang, PhD - Vice President, Global External R&D, Asia, Eli Lilly and Company

Dr. Tony Zhang received his BS degree in chemistry from Shandong University. With the help of a CGP Fellowship, he obtained his PhD from Purdue University in 1989 under the direction of Professor Negishi, a 2010 Nobel laureate. After a short stint as a research scientist at Reilly Inc (now Vertellus), he joined Eli Lilly in 1992, and had led multi-disciplined teams engaged in drug development. He is recognized as a premier molecule builder, and has patented, published, and lectured extensively in synthetic chemistry, pharmaceutical process development and R&D efficiencies. He is an advisory board member for Org Process R&D, and has received a number of awards, including the highest distinction within Lilly, the Chairman Ovation Award, for his contribution to R&D productivity. Tony has been a key initiator and implementer of the company’s R&D network in China. In June 2008, he became the site head for Eli Lilly Global R&D, China, with responsibilities including development of R&D strategies, establishment and management of research collaborations, and licensing activities for molecular assets and research technologies in the Greater China area. Tony is currently serving as the board chairman for the Bayhelix Group, an association of Chinese life science business leaders with more than 300 members across US and China.