Dr. Chen will advise Zai Lab as it continues to progress its internally-developed oncology pipeline
SHANGHAI, China, Feb. 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ: ZLAB), a China and U.S.-based innovative commercial stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced the appointment of immuno-oncology pioneer, Lieping Chen, M.D., Ph.D., to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Dr. Chen will advise the Company as it continues to advance its pre-clinical, internally-developed oncology pipeline.
“It is an honor to welcome a physician-scientist of such stature to join our SAB,” said Dr. Samantha Du, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Zai Lab. “Dr. Chen’s accomplishments and expertise in the immuno-oncology field have led to revolutionary new therapies for the treatment of cancer including the development of PD-1/PD-L1 antibody therapies. We look forward to his insight and contributions as we continue to build and advance our internally-developed programs.”
Dr. Chen is the United Technologies Corporation Professor in Cancer Research, Co-Director of the Cancer Immunology Program at the Yale Cancer Center and a Professor of immunobiology, dermatology and medicine (Medical Oncology) at the Yale University School of Medicine. His research through the 1990’s demonstrated the first proof-of-concept identifying membrane proteins that can control T cell function and that these membrane proteins could be targets for cancer therapeutics. Before joining the Yale University School of Medicine, Dr. Chen was at the Mayo Clinic where he was the first to discover a molecule that is now known as PD-L1 and demonstrate that its activity can cause T cell death and protect cancer cells from an immune response against them. He then showed that blocking PD-L1’s interaction with PD-1 with monoclonal antibodies improved the body’s ability to fight cancer. In 2006, he moved to Johns Hopkins Medical Institute where he developed a PD-L1 biomarker. The totality of this work led to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy, which have revolutionized cancer treatment. Dr. Chen made other important discoveries elucidating various molecular pathways with immune modulatory functions and these discoveries led to the clinical development of many therapeutic agents.
Dr. Chen earned his Ph.D. from Drexel University in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, his M.S. from Beijing Union Medical College in Immunology, and his M.D. from Fujian Medical College. He has published more than 350 research articles, reviews and book chapters. He has received several awards and professional recognitions including William B. Coley Award (2014), Warren Alpert Foundation Prize (2017) and Giants of Cancer Care (2018).
In addition to Dr. Chen, other members of Zai Lab’s SAB include Neal Rosen, M.D., Ph.D., Gwen Fyfe, M.D., and Richard Flavell, Ph.D., FRS.
About Zai Lab
Zai Lab (NASDAQ: ZLAB) is a China and US-based innovative commercial stage biopharmaceutical company focused on bringing transformative medicines for cancer, autoimmune and infectious diseases to patients in China and around the world. Zai Lab’s experienced team has secured partnerships with leading global biopharma companies, generating a broad pipeline of innovative drug candidates targeting the fast-growing segments of China’s pharmaceutical market and addressing unmet medical needs. Zai Lab’s vision is to become a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company, discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing its partners’ and its own products in order to impact human health worldwide.
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