Major Leadership Shakeup in China's Pharma Sector: Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, ZhenDong, Innovent, Zai Lab, and CSPC Announce Executive Changes in April

4The month has become a period of concentrated outbreaks of major changes in senior executive positions, with the pharmaceutical industry experiencing a personnel storm. Statistics show that nearly thirty senior executives from more than ten pharmaceutical companies have stepped down or been reassigned, including key positions such as chairmen and general managers of domestic pharmaceutical enterprises, as well as presidents of multinational pharmaceutical companies in China.

Four pharmaceutical companies, Shijiang, Zai Lab, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer, all announced personnel changes on April 22:

On April 22, Zai Lab announced to its employees that Liang Yi, the original Chief Commercial Officer and Greater China President, will leave Zai Lab. Starting today, Zhu Tong joins Zai Lab to take on the role of Chief Commercial Officer for the Greater China region.

On April 22, Pfizer announced that Xiao Dong Jin joined Pfizer as the Head of Pfizer China Vaccines and Essential Business, effective immediately.

On April 22, AstraZeneca China announced the heads of two product lines. Yuanjie Shi, the current Executive Director of Marketing for the Lung Cancer Business Unit, will take charge of the Imfinzi product line. Yuanjie Shi will also continue to serve as the Executive Director of the Lung Cancer Business Unit, overseeing the strategic resource integration for the marketing department in the lung cancer treatment field. Shengbin Yang, currently the Assistant Vice President of AstraZeneca China, Head of the Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic Business Unit, and leader of the Farxiga and Metabolic product lines, will transfer to the Lung Cancer Business Unit to lead the Tagrisso product line.

On April 22, Shiyao Innovative Pharmaceuticals, also known as Sinopharm Nova, announced that the board had received written resignation reports from General Manager Mr. Han Feng and Director Mr. Wang Huaiyu.

The pharmaceuticals industry witnesses a day of sweeping personnel changes, with a wave of executive transitions. Where will the industry landscape head next?

On April 23, an internal email from Johnson & Johnson announced that Song Weiqun, Chairman of Johnson & Johnson China and President of Johnson & Johnson Medical Technology China, has tendered his resignation after careful consideration to pursue external development opportunities.

In 2003, Song Weiqun joined Johnson & Johnson as a global management trainee; in 2006, he returned to China to serve as the head of the Ethicon division of Johnson & Johnson Medical (China) Ltd.; in 2015, he was promoted to President of Johnson & Johnson Medical China; and from 2018 to present, he has also been serving as the Chairman of Johnson & Johnson China.

Song Weiqun is the first China Chairman in Johnson & Johnson's over 130-year history to have grown up locally; he was the first to propose positioning China as a "global innovation engine," making Johnson & Johnson the first Fortune 500 company to strategically deploy China as an innovation hub.

Song Weiqun will continue to serve as the Chairman of Johnson & Johnson China and the President of Johnson & Johnson Medical Technology China until the end of September this year, overseeing all business operations and daily management to ensure a smooth transition and handover.

Johnson & Johnson announced that Chen Yanli will assume the role of Human Resources Leader for Johnson & Johnson Medical Technology China & OneHR China, effective April 29. She will join the Board of Directors of Johnson & Johnson Medical Technology China and the Asia-Pacific Human Resources Management Team.

Data shows that Chen Yanli has served as the Human Resources Director of Dow Chemical Company's Asia-Pacific region, Greater China region, HR Business Partner for the Asia-Pacific Commercial and Business Development Department, and the head of international assignments for the Asia-Pacific region.

In 2019, Chen Yanli joined Roche as the Vice President of Talent and Organizational Culture at Roche Pharmaceuticals China. In 2022, her role expanded to include the position of Head of Hospital Key Account Management for Market Access in China. On April 11 this year, Roche announced Chen Yanli's departure.

On April 22, Pfizer announced the appointment of Sean Kim as the head of Pfizer China Vaccines and Essential Business.

Jin Xiaodong has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with solid experience and practical achievements in product commercialization strategy decision-making, market and sales management, as well as team management.

Jin Xiaodong has worked for companies such as Novartis, Abbott, and Sanofi.

In June 2020, James Jin officially assumed the position of Chief Commercial Officer at InnoCare Pharma, leading teams in sales, marketing, market access, and distributor management to execute the company’s commercialization strategy. On February 20 this year, James Jin transitioned to the role of Chief Business Development Officer at InnoCare Pharma.

According to the latest foreign media reports, Giovanni Caforio, who left Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) in November last year, will succeed Joerg Reinhardt as chairman of Novartis next year. Joerg Reinhardt plans to retire at the end of his 12-year term in December 2025.

Giovanni Caforio worked at BMS for 20 years and was promoted to CEO of the company in 2015.

During his eight-year tenure as CEO, Caforio oversaw several major acquisitions, the most notable of which was the $74 billion acquisition of Celgene, significantly expanding BMS's oncology drug business.

On April 9, Qi Xin, General Manager of GSK China, announced a personnel appointment within the China management team to the employees. Zhang Ning will join GSK and be appointed as Vice President and Head of Specialty Medicines Business, while also becoming one of the members of the GSK China management team, directly reporting to Qi Xin, General Manager of GSK China.

The appointment will take effect on April 7, 2024. Last weekend, quite a few GSK colleagues should have already noticed the change from the internal organizational chart.

Before joining GlaxoSmithKline, Zhang Ning served as the General Manager of Hengrui Medicine's Marketing Department, with over a decade of industry experience. Prior to that, he held marketing and sales management positions at MNCs such as Servier, Novartis, and Xi'an Janssen.

On April 23, Zhen Dong Pharmaceutical issued two announcements, declaring that it had received written resignation reports from the company's actual controller, Chairman Li Anping, and CFO Liu Changlu. Among them, Li Anping resigned from the positions of Chairman of the Fifth Board of Directors and Convener of the Board's Strategy and Development Committee, as well as a member of the Board's Nomination Committee. After his resignation, he will no longer hold any position in the company. Liu Changlu resigned from the position of CFO and will take on other roles within the company after his resignation.

At the same time, Zhen Dong Pharmaceutical announced that the board of directors has elected Li Kun, a director of the company, to serve as the chairman of the fifth board of directors. The term of office will start from the date of approval by this board of directors and end on the expiration date of the fifth board of directors. According to the provisions of the "Articles of Association of the Company," the chairman also serves as the legal representative of the company.

The newly appointed chairman of Zhendong Pharmaceutical, who is the son of the company's actual controller Li Anping and the brother of the company’s director Li Jing, previously served as the General Manager of E-commerce, General Manager of Marketing, and Vice President of Zhendong Pharmaceutical. He currently serves as a director of the company. The new Chief Financial Officer has also been confirmed, to be assumed by the Chief Accountant, Liu Yongsen.

On April 9, Guangyu Pharmaceutical announced the written resignation reports of Zhang Bin, a director, and Miao Hui, a director and president. Due to personal reasons, Zhang Bin applied to resign from his position as a director of the company. After resignation, Zhang Bin will no longer hold any position in the company. Miao Hui also applied to resign from his positions as president, director, and member of the Compensation and Evaluation Committee due to personal reasons. After resignation, Miao Hui will no longer hold any position in the company.

On April 16, Innovent Biologics announced the appointment of Nageatte Ibrahim as Chief Medical Officer of Oncology, responsible for the overall global clinical development strategy, planning, and execution in the field of oncology.

Dr. Nageatte Ibrahim has over 11 years of industry experience in oncology drug development management at Merck and GSK, as well as 9 years of experience in healthcare and medical academia. She served as a Medical Instructor at Harvard Medical School and as an attending physician at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, followed by a role as a Guest Assistant Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine/Abramson Cancer Center. Dr. Ibrahim’s industry experience began with the dabrafenib/trametinib project at GSK, which achieved global regulatory approval for melanoma.

On April 30, Innovent Biologics announced the appointment of Su Hua Zhang as Global Chief Business Officer (CBO). Su Hua Zhang will be responsible for Innovent Biologics' strategic planning and business development on a global scale, reporting to the company’s founder, Chairman, and CEO, De Chao Yu.

Zhang Suhua holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Columbia University, an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor's degree in Biology from Peking University. Before joining Innovent Biologics, Zhang served as the Chief Business Officer of Gracell Biotechnologies and NeoImmune Tech, where he led the $1.2 billion acquisition partnership between Gracell Biotechnologies and AstraZeneca, marking the first case of a Chinese innovative pharmaceutical company being acquired by a multinational pharmaceutical corporation.

On April 23, Shanghai Belie Tianhe announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, SystImmune, appointed Jie D'Elia as the company's new Chief Executive Officer today.

D'Elia has over 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and served as Senior Vice President at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), overseeing business development in oncology, hematology, and cell therapy.

D'Elia has extensive experience and a successful track record in the field of tumor immunotherapy. During his tenure at BMS, he led the development and commercialization of several key products, including Opdivo® (nivolumab) and Opdivo® in combination with Yervoy® (ipilimumab) for the treatment of melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, renal cancer, and head and neck cancer. He also spearheaded the development of BMS’s early pipeline of tumor immunotherapies.

SystImmune is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing novel cancer immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. The company is currently developing multiple candidate drugs targeting various cancer indications.