WuXi AppTec's CAR-T Subsidiary WuXi Cellular Therapy Appoints Tian Feng as New Chairman Amid Leadership Overhaul

Prior to joining JW Therapeutics, Tian Feng served as General Manager of the Oncology Business Unit at Changchun GeneScience Pharmaceuticals from May 2023 to December 2025, where he successfully introduced megestrol acetate (Meishiya) and secured its inclusion in the National Reimbursement Drug List. Previously, he held positions as CEO and Director at Shanghai Jingjiu Biotechnology, and as Head of Marketing and Medical Affairs as well as Deputy General Manager of the Oncology Business Unit at Hengrui Medicine. He also has prior experience working at multinational pharmaceutical companies such as Roche and Pfizer.

In March 2025, Liu Min was appointed Chairman of JW Therapeutics. Liu joined JW Therapeutics in 2024, bringing extensive frontline commercialization and sales operations experience. He previously held senior executive positions at several multinational pharmaceutical companies. During his tenure as Vice President at Roche China, he spearheaded the domestic launch of products such as Avastin and Zelboraf and played a key role in national medical insurance reimbursement negotiations. However, in December of the same year, Liu resigned for personal career development reasons and joined Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals that same month.

At that time, Liu Cheng, who came from a technical background and had many years of deep experience at JW Therapeutics, succeeded Liu Min. Holding over 300 patents and published patent applications, Liu Cheng ranked among the top globally in CAR-T patent holdings. Meanwhile, Tian Feng joined JW Therapeutics as CEO and Executive Director, thereby separating the roles of Chairman and CEO. JW Therapeutics offered Tian Feng an annual base salary of RMB 3 million, plus discretionary performance bonuses, share awards, and benefits in kind.

In just six months, Liu Cheng automatically stepped down after failing to be re-elected, and the board elected Tian Feng, who, like Liu Min, has a commercialization background.

Under the Corporate Governance Code of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the roles of Chairman and CEO should generally be held by different individuals; if the same person holds both positions, the company must provide a full and reasonable explanation. JW Therapeutics explained that this arrangement ensures “unified leadership,” enables more efficient formulation and implementation of business strategies, and ensures that the existing board structure continues to provide adequate checks and balances.

Industry insiders analyze that JW Therapeutics, as the domestic leader in the CAR-T sector, reflects a broader trend in the cell therapy industry with this management adjustment: the industry has moved beyond the early stage of pure technical competition, and commercialization capabilities, cost control, and market operations have become core competitive advantages for companies to break through. The full takeover of operations by professional managers in leading enterprises will become a normal trend.

Reference: TanSi Bio

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