Cargene Biopharma Appoints Kathy He as CEO to Lead Innovative Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Platform

Lead the company to build an innovative nucleic acid drug platform, redefining the future of drug therapy.

Shanghai, Boston, and SingaporeJune 28, 2022PR Newswire -- Cargene Biopharma ("Cargene"), a small nucleic acid drug company, announced that Ms. Kathy He has officially assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer and joined the board of directors. With over 20 years of experience in management operations, product development, and market promotion in both the Chinese and American pharmaceutical industries, Kathy has successfully brought multiple innovative drugs to market. She has extensive expertise in optimizing product portfolios and corporate strategic development, along with a strong background in global R&D operations management and exceptional leadership skills.

Kathy He, CEO of Cargene Biopharma

CARGENE BIOPHARMA is an innovative startup company focused on drug discovery and development. Leveraging the talent advantages of Shanghai, Boston, and Singapore, combined with the team's deep understanding of biological targets and years of industry experience in nucleic acid drug chemistry, CARGENE BIOPHARMA is dedicated to developing novel nucleic acid drugs for liver and eye diseases. In 2021, the company completed a Pre-A round of financing of nearly 20 million US dollars led by BioTrack Capital.

Mr. Lin Xiangqian, Founder and Chairman of CARGENE BIOPHARMA, stated: "CARGENE BIOPHARMA is at a critical stage of business acceleration. My founding partner, Dr. Yann Chong Tan, and I are thrilled to have an international elite leader like Kathy join us as our entrepreneurial partner. Kathy brings extensive experience in integrating U.S.-China operations and has an impressive track record in cross-regional strategic collaborations and capital market promotions within the biopharmaceutical industry. We are very excited to work with Kathy to build CARGENE BIOPHARMA into a global biopharmaceutical company."

Before joining CARGENE BIOPHARMA, Kathy served as the Global Chief Business Officer and General Manager of China at Kira Pharmaceuticals. During her tenure, she led the company to complete a $60 million Series B+ financing round and helped Kira Pharmaceuticals establish an efficient operational system in China, facilitating its global expansion. Kathy also served as the Chief Business Officer and Head of Corporate Development at Abbisko Therapeutics, a Hong Kong-listed company, where she led early-stage financing of over $100 million and established multiple cross-border strategic partnerships for Abbisko Therapeutics. Additionally, Kathy was responsible for the U.S. market promotion of several blockbuster drugs at multinational pharmaceutical companies including Takeda, MSD, and Abbott. Besides her extensive industry operational experience, Kathy has also served as a corporate partner at a well-known investment firm.

"Small nucleic acid drugs greatly expand the range of target options for innovative drugs, making previously 'undruggable' targets possible. This brings new hope to some diseases that severely threaten health but currently lack effective treatments. CARGENE BIOPHARMA combines its small interfering RNA (siRNA) development platform with its First-in-Class drug targets. Leveraging deep professional expertise in the nucleic acid drug field and active collaboration with top scientists, the company rapidly and effectively translates groundbreaking basic research into industrial applications," said Kathy. "I'm very excited to work with the team to explore the therapeutic potential of nucleic acid drugs and look forward to redefining the future of drug therapies, bringing highly effective treatments to patients and improving their lives," she added.

Kathy graduated from Wuhan University with a Bachelor's degree in Biology. She also holds a degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.Illinoisat Urbana-Champaign) a Master's degree in Molecular Biology and from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University a Master's degree in Business Administration. She currently serves as a board member of Diagnostic Photonics (an innovative medical device company based in the U.S.) and has previously served on the board of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) and as a former board member of the BayHelix Group. (Note: The BayHelix Group is a non-profit membership organization comprised of business leaders in the global life science and healthcare industry.)