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Session C1: Panel Discussion: The Opportunities, Challenges, and Strategies for Biotech Startup Companies

11:10 AM – 12 PM

NCBiotech Center, Research Triangle Park, NC

Talk Title

Building Biotech in America: Chinese Entrepreneurs on Innovation, Leadership, and Global Collaboration

Chair

Tony Zhang, Ph.D.

CEO & Co-Founder

BizPro International Consulting

Tony Zhang, Ph.D. is the CEO & Co-Founder of BizPro International Consulting and a seasoned healthcare commercial strategist with more than 30 years of experience spanning pharmaceutical marketing, brand lifecycle management, consulting, and executive training. He is widely recognized for his expertise in helping healthcare and life sciences organizations strengthen commercialization strategy, accelerate product adoption, and improve market execution across diverse global settings. Dr. Zhang is the author of the acclaimed eight-book series, 8 Solutions for Healthcare Product Marketing, a practical and influential body of work focused on the strategic and operational challenges of healthcare product launch, promotion, and lifecycle optimization. This series has since been further transformed into an AI-enabled learning and training platform that integrates reading modules, video content, AI-assisted Q&A, and workshop facilitation tools, reflecting his continued commitment to combining commercial insight with digital innovation. Over the course of his career, Dr. Zhang has worked at the intersection of healthcare innovation, commercial excellence, and entrepreneurship. As founder and managing partner of BizPro, DRGsPro, and BizProAI, he has led a range of initiatives covering healthcare marketing training, brand consulting, hospital DRG management, and AI-driven applications for healthcare marketing and sales force effectiveness. His work has supported organizations seeking to improve strategic positioning, strengthen field force performance, and adapt to rapidly evolving market environments. Earlier in his corporate career, Dr. Zhang held international marketing and execution roles across the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia, where he contributed to global pharmaceutical brand launches, cross-market partnerships, and localized commercialization programs. In addition to his consulting leadership, he is also a frequent speaker at major international summits and forums, sharing insights on healthcare product launch, digital marketing, brand communications, and innovation-driven business growth.

Panelists

Zhi Hong, Ph.D.

Chairman & CEO

Brii Biosciences

Zhi Hong, Ph.D., is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Brii Biosciences, where he has led the company since co-founding it in 2018. He is widely recognized as a seasoned biopharmaceutical leader with more than 25 years of experience in global drug discovery and development, and a track record of translating strong science into clinically and commercially meaningful medicines. Over the course of his career, he has helped bring more than 40 compounds into development, including many that ultimately achieved regulatory approval and commercial launch. At Brii Bio, he has built the company around a focused strategy of addressing major public health challenges and diseases with substantial unmet medical need through differentiated science, global development discipline, and patient-centered innovation. Before founding Brii Bio, Dr. Hong served as Senior Vice President and Head of GlaxoSmithKline's Infectious Diseases Therapy Area Unit, where he was widely credited as a key architect of GSK's resurgence in anti-HIV, anti-HBV, and antibiotic discovery and development. Under his leadership, ViiV Healthcare's HIV franchise was revitalized through the approvals of Tivicay, Triumeq, Cabenuva, and Apretude, while important programs such as gepotidacin and bepirovirsen advanced into late-stage development. He was also a major champion of GSK's long-acting HIV treatment and prevention strategy, which led to the first-in-class approvals of Cabenuva and Apretude. In addition, he helped establish multiple public-private partnerships with U.S. and European government agencies, including DTRA, BARDA, NIH, and IMI, as well as major philanthropic organizations such as the Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust, reflecting his longstanding commitment to public health innovation and cross-sector collaboration. Earlier in his career, Dr. Hong founded Ardea Biosciences, later acquired by AstraZeneca, and held leadership positions at Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Schering-Plough Research Institute. He also helped create GSK's Institute for Infectious Diseases and Public Health in Beijing and has served as a board member of ViiV Healthcare. Academically, he earned his B.S. in Biochemistry from Fudan University and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the State University of New York. Today, his leadership at Brii Bio continues to reflect a rare combination of scientific depth, strategic vision, and executional strength. Brii's current focus on hepatitis B functional cure, including its fully enrolled ENRICH and ENHANCE Phase 2b studies and ongoing ENSURE program, further highlights Dr. Hong's ability to build and advance a differentiated biotechnology platform with meaningful potential for global patient impact.

Xian Chen, Ph.D.

Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Xian Chen, Ph.D. is Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Faculty Director of the Quantitative Proteomics Center for Disease Marker Discovery, and a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Chen is internationally recognized for his pioneering work in developing and applying advanced proteomics and functional multi-omics technologies to investigate disease mechanisms, identify clinically relevant biomarkers, and discover new therapeutic targets across a broad range of human diseases, including cancer, immunological disorders, neurodegeneration, and metabolic disease. Over the course of his career, Dr. Chen has helped bridge the gap between systems-level molecular discovery and translational medicine. His laboratory integrates proteomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, and functional biology to understand how complex regulatory networks shape disease pathogenesis and therapeutic response. His research has provided important insights into how epigenetic modifiers, protein interaction networks, and translational control mechanisms contribute to disease progression and treatment outcomes, offering new directions for precision medicine and mechanism-based therapeutic development. In recent years, Dr. Chen's team has made notable advances in the study of G9a as a therapeutic target. Among these contributions is the development and characterization of a brain-penetrant G9a inhibitor, MS1262, which demonstrated the ability to restore both cognitive and noncognitive function in multiple Alzheimer's disease mouse models. This work has drawn considerable attention for its translational significance and its potential to open new therapeutic avenues for neurodegenerative disease. In parallel, Dr. Chen has extended his translational research into type 1 diabetes, where his group identified G9a- and Ezh2-related epigenetic mechanisms linked to pathogenic effector T-cell activity and diabetes-associated immune pathways. These findings further support the development of mechanism-driven therapeutic strategies in immune-mediated disease. With a career spanning proteomics innovation, systems biology, epigenetic regulation, and disease-focused translation, Dr. Chen brings a powerful and highly interdisciplinary perspective on advancing functional multi-omics discoveries toward therapeutic impact in complex human diseases.

Xiaoqiang Xue, Ph.D.

Global Head of Biostatistics

Syneos Health

Xiaoqiang Xue, Ph.D. is Global Head of Biostatistics at Syneos Health and a highly experienced biostatistics leader in innovative clinical development and regulatory strategy. His work focuses on applying statistical science to improve trial design, dose optimization, and development decision-making, particularly in areas where efficiency, rigor, and regulatory alignment are critical to successful drug development. Dr. Xue has built a distinguished career around innovative trial design, Bayesian methods, rare disease development, and quantitative strategy. Earlier in his career, he held biostatistics leadership roles at IQVIA and Dova Pharmaceuticals, and his authored work has included topics such as Bayesian approaches, biosimilar development, and adaptive methods in clinical trials. He has also contributed to professional scientific programming in biostatistics, including sessions focused on innovative Bayesian design and rare disease drug development. In his current role, Dr. Xue brings a practical perspective on how innovative trial design and regulatory-oriented development strategy can accelerate programs while maintaining scientific rigor. His recent work has highlighted the role of biostatistics in oncology development, including dose optimization and modern trial strategy, making him a strong voice on the evolving interface between statistics, regulation, and global biotech platform expansion.

Andy Yuan, Ph.D.

Co-Founder, CEO & CSO

Excyte Biopharma Ltd.

Dr. Andy Yuan serves as the co-founder, CEO, and CSO of Excyte Biopharma Ltd. He holds a bachelor's degree in molecular biology and Virology from Wuhan University and a Ph.D. from the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology. His postdoctoral research was conducted at the New Drug R&D Center of North China Pharmaceutical Group and the Fox Chase Cancer Center. Dr. Yuan has held senior roles at notable organizations, including Senior Scientist at Imclone Systems (later acquired by Eli Lilly), Scientist II at MedImmune (AstraZeneca), and Director of the U.S. Center at Kelun Pharmaceutical. His expertise encompasses extensive preclinical R&D in antibody-based therapeutics, with involvement in projects such as monoclonal antibodies, bispecific antibodies, ADCs, bispecific-ADCs, and CAR-T therapies. He pioneered and led the development of Excyte TCE, guiding it from inception through IND approval and clinical trials. Dr. Yuan has authored nearly 30 scientific publications and holds approximately 20 patents related to his innovations in biopharmaceuticals.