Sudden Departure of China General Manager at Multinational Pharma Company Abbott EPD

On the afternoon of the 27th, Abbott’s EPD division delivered surprising news to frontline staff in China: Jin Fangqian, the General Manager for China, who had spoken at the annual meeting just a few days earlier, is stepping down.

Sammy Karam, Senior Vice President and Head of Emerging Markets for Abbott’s Pharmaceutical Business, announced the news to employees that Fangqian Jin will leave Abbott to pursue other career development opportunities, with his last working day being March 5.

Abbott has not yet announced a successor to the General Manager of its pharmaceutical business in China. The China team is currently under the interim management of Sammy Karam, Head of Emerging Markets for Abbott’s pharmaceutical business.

Jin Fangqian joined Abbott as General Manager of Abbott EPD China on February 20, 2019. Prior to joining Abbott, he served as the Head of Merck China’s Primary Care and Endocrinology Business Unit, officially departing from Merck on the 15th of that month.

Da Mi has previously introduced this well-known professional manager, who also started his career as a pharmaceutical sales representative and climbed the ladder to his current position.

According to industry rumors, after leaving Abbott, Jin Fangqian will join another multinational pharmaceutical company as the General Manager of its China region. It is believed that official announcements will be made soon.

About Jin Fangqian

Jin Fangqian graduated from Shanghai Normal University and has 16 years of experience at MSD and 6 years at Merck, progressing from a pharmaceutical sales representative to the head of a business unit.

After graduating in 1996, he joined Merck & Co. as a pharmaceutical sales representative. He subsequently served as District Manager and Regional Product Manager (RPM), and was promoted to Regional Manager in 2002. He later held various positions in the Business Development and Marketing departments. In 2008, he successively served as Anti-Infectives Marketing Manager and Marketing Director, and in 2010, he was promoted to Director of the Women’s Health Division at Merck & Co.

In May 2013, Jin Fangqian joined Merck China as the Head of the Endocrinology and Metabolism Division, leading the Glucophage team through its joint promotion with Bristol-Myers Squibb until its return to Merck in 2016, sustaining consistent strong growth over many years.

On July 31, 2017, Chen Shaofeng, former head of Merck China’s General Medicines Business Unit, officially stepped down and joined Roche China as Vice President of the Infectious Diseases and Specialty Care Business Unit. Subsequently, Merck China merged its General Medicines Business Unit with its Endocrinology and Metabolism Business Unit, and Jin Fangqian, then head of the Endocrinology and Metabolism Business Unit, was appointed as the new head of the combined General Medicines and Endocrinology Business Unit.

Renaud Gabay previously served as General Manager of Abbott’s Pharmaceutical Products Division in China. On December 5 last year, Abbott announced that Mr. Gabay would assume the role of Vice President of North Asia for Abbott’s Nutrition Division, reporting to Daniel Salvadori, Executive Vice President of the Nutrition Division. Effective immediately, his responsibilities shifted to the Nutrition Division’s North Asia region, with his official appointment commencing on January 1, 2019. At that time, no successor was announced for his former position.

On February 11, 2019, Peter Huang, Vice President of Abbott's Pharmaceutical Division for the Asia-Pacific region, announced the appointment of Jin Fangqian as General Manager of Abbott's Pharmaceutical Division in China, effective February 20, 2019.