BeiGene Announces Leadership Transition in Immuno-Oncology Chief Medical Officer Role

On February 11, BeOne Medicines announced that Dr. Ben Yong, a core technical staff member of the company, had submitted his resignation application to the company in August 2021, and he would no longer serve as the Chief Medical Officer of Immuno-Oncology of the company starting from February 9, 2022 (US local time). Dr. Ben Yong will continue to serve as a special advisor to the company's global R&D head to assist in ensuring a smooth transition for the incoming Chief Medical Officer of Immuno-Oncology, with an expected term until June 30, 2022.

After Dr. Ben Yong's role adjustment, Dr. Mark C. Lanasa has been appointed as the Chief Medical Officer of Immuno-Oncology at the company, effective from February 9, 2022 (U.S. local time). Prior to joining the company, Dr. Mark C. Lanasa served as Vice President and Global Clinical Head of Late Oncology Development at AstraZeneca.

Yong Ben (Ben Yong), male, 48 years old, American nationality, holds a doctoral degree. From 1995 to 2000, he served as a surgical oncology physician at Peking Union Medical College Hospital in China. From 2004 to 2006, he worked as a senior researcher at Shanghai 3D Biotech Co., Ltd. From 2006 to 2012, he served as the Global Medical Monitor at Pfizer, leading the related work for the approval of axitinib in the renal cancer field. In 2012, Dr. Ben Yong joined Millennium Pharmaceuticals as the clinical lead and medical director, leading the approval of ixazomib in the multiple myeloma field. From 2014 to 2017, Dr. Ben Yong served as the global clinical leader of AstraZeneca's immuno-oncology clinical development, responsible for PD-L1 durvalumab in urothelial carcinoma indications and successfully obtaining approval.

From 2017 to 2019, Dr. Ben Yong served as the Chief Medical Officer at BioAtla, a biotechnology company located in San Diego, while also serving as the Chief Medical Officer at Himalaya Therapeutics, focusing on the development of BioAtla's oncology drug pipeline in China. In February 2019, he joined the company and, prior to this role adjustment, served as the Chief Medical Officer of Immuno-Oncology, while being one of the company’s core technical personnel.

Dr. Ben Yong joined BeOne Medicines in February 2019 as the Chief Medical Officer of Immuno-Oncology, mainly responsible for the global clinical development of the company's solid tumor programs during his tenure. As of the announcement date, Dr. Ben Yong has not participated in the research and development of patents authorized to the company or patents in the application stage, and there are no disputes or potential disputes involving service inventions between him and the company.

The "Offer Letter" and related confidentiality agreements clearly stipulate the confidentiality responsibilities (including but not limited to the content, scope, and duration of confidentiality). During his employment with the company and for ten years after the termination of the employment relationship, he is obligated to maintain the confidentiality of any confidential information he has become aware of. Subject to the relevant laws of the State of California, USA, Dr. Ben Yong has no non-compete obligations after leaving the company.

As of the time of his job adjustment, Dr. Ben Yong directly held 2,171 ordinary shares that had been issued overseas by the company, and was entitled to restricted share units and stock options under the company's equity incentive plan. He did not hold any RMB-denominated shares listed on the STAR Market. The trading of Dr. Ben Yong’s US-listed shares is subject to the company's insider trading policy. To date, there are no disagreements between Dr. Ben Yong and the company regarding his shareholdings.

BeOne Medicines stated that, as of the end of 2019, 2020, and 2021, the number of R&D personnel in the company was 1,470, 2,076, and 2,949 respectively, accounting for 43.8%, 40.30%, and 36.7% of the total number of employees respectively, with the number of R&D personnel continuing to grow. The departure of these personnel will not have a significant adverse impact on the company's business development, technology research and development, and product innovation.