On November 6, Tianjing Biopharmaceuticals (IMAB.US) announced today that Dr. Sean (Xi-Yong) Fu, PhD, MBA, has been officially appointed as the Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") of the company, effective November 1, 2024. Dr. Fu has been serving as the interim CEO since July 15, 2024, and will continue as a member of the I-Mab board of directors.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of I-Mab, Wei Fu, stated: "Sean's appointment is an important step for I-Mab to further realize the mission of providing breakthrough therapies to global patients. During his tenure as interim CEO, he has quickly demonstrated strategic and effective leadership. Sean has rich experience in biopharmaceutical product development, partnership transactions, organizational leadership, and is also an innovative entrepreneur, making him the best candidate to lead I-Mab."
Dr. Fu expressed: "Over the past few months, I have witnessed the enthusiasm and dedication of the I-Mab team in advancing differentiated cancer immunotherapy combinations. I am honored and very excited to continue leading I-Mab, further refining our strategy while advancing our three clinical programs to important milestones. I look forward to collaborating with the excellent team at I-Mab, the board of directors, management, and partners to fully realize the potential of our combination products, bringing new treatment options to cancer patients."
Dr. Fu has over 20 years of experience in the life sciences industry, having led the development of multiple clinical-stage assets. Recently, Dr. Fu served as the operating partner at ABio-X, a life sciences company incubation platform. Prior to joining ABio-X, Dr. Fu was the co-founder and CEO of mRNA platform company RVAC Medicines. Before founding RVAC, he served as Vice President and Head of International R&D at Luye Pharma Group, overseeing teams in Boston, Princeton, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan. He also served as CEO of Luye's subsidiary, Gene Leap, focusing on DNA and RNA therapies. Previously, Dr. Fu spent 15 years at Merck & Co., responsible for research and development, business development, finance, and operations management, including financial oversight of late-stage clinical programs. He led the global R&D network integration following Merck's milestone merger with Schering-Plough Corporation for a total of $42 billion. Dr. Fu holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from The Ohio State University, and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
