Novartis China
Innovative Drug Developer
On October 28, 2025, according to "Headhunter Insight," Novartis China recently announced a key personnel appointment: Ms. Li Xu has been appointed as the Head of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer for Novartis China. She will be based in Shanghai, reporting to Mr. Yao Li, President and Managing Director of Novartis China, and in a dotted-line capacity to Stefan Florentinus, Head of Medical Affairs for the International Business Unit.
At the same time, Ms. Wu Ling, the current Chief Medical Officer of Novartis China, will be transferred to take up the position of Head of Medical Affairs for the Latin America and Canada region on December 1, 2025.
Data shows that Ms. Wu Ling has worked at Novartis for over 20 years, starting from a grassroots R&D position at the U.S. branch and gradually advancing to become the Head of U.S. Oncology Medical Science and Education. After returning to China in 2018, she served as the Chief Scientific Officer of Novartis China, comprehensively overseeing the drug development strategy and pipeline advancement in the China region.
After transitioning to the role of Head of Medical Affairs, Innovative Medicines China and Chief Medical Officer in May 2022, she led the upgrade of the medical affairs system and promoted the market access and patient availability of innovative drugs in China.
The newly appointed Chief Medical Officer of Novartis China, Ms. Li Xu, has reportedly held leadership positions in medical affairs, regulatory affairs, and clinical development at Roche China, AstraZeneca China, and innovative biopharmaceutical companies in China, covering the entire lifecycle management from clinical research to post-marketing.
In August 2023, Xu Li joined Novartis China as the Head of the Oncology Therapeutic Area in the Medical Affairs Department, leading the launch of innovative drugs for breast cancer, hematology, and lung cancer, and significantly enhancing academic translation capabilities.
Novartis' Financial Report for the First Half of 2025 Shows a Net Sales Revenue of $27.287 Billion, Increasing by 12% Year-on-Year, with a Net Profit of $7.633 Billion, Rising by 29% Year-on-Year. Revenue in China Reached $2.2 Billion, Growing by 8% Year-on-Year.
This growth was mainly driven by Novartis' strong performance in the four major core therapeutic areas of cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic diseases, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology. Among them, innovative drugs such as Entresto, Cosentyx, and Kisqali became the best-selling products, boosting the performance growth of Novartis China.
And it is worth noting that, in 2025, several significant personnel changes occurred at Novartis China——
In September, Novartis Group announced that Wu Ling, the current Chief Medical Officer of Novartis China, will officially assume the role of Head of Medical Affairs for the Latin America and Canada region on December 1, reporting directly to the Global Head of Medical Affairs.
In March, Novartis China announced that Tian Yu, the current head of the immunotherapy field, will be promoted to the president of Novartis Poland, and his position will be taken over by Wang Jia, the current head of the ophthalmology, transplantation, and central nervous system treatment fields.
On April 16, Novartis China announced that Xu Wei, the current head of the lung cancer and solid tumor product portfolio in the oncology therapeutic area, will assume the role of head of the ophthalmology, transplantation, and central nervous system therapeutic areas starting from May 1.
These adjustments not only strengthen the core management capabilities of its local operations but also reflect the logic of talent development and strategic layout based on "globalization + localization."
