STAT Newsmaker: Xiaobin Wu
This is the first in an occasional series of brief Q&As with newsmakers you can look forward to seeing in STAT China. First up is Xiaobin Wu, general manager of China and president of BeiGene. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Can you tell me about how you joined Beigene? For example, did you know co-founder John Oyler or anyone from the exec team before? What made you say yes to joining Beigene in the end?
Our co-founder Dr. Xiaodong Wang is a renowned scientist who has contributed a great deal to the research and discovery in biopharma, and we’ve known each other for a while. John came in through my network, and aside from his entrepreneurial success, I was blown away by the unmatched vision he has for where the biopharma industry is heading in China. I was GM of China at Bayer, Wyeth, and later Pfizer for altogether 20 years. Toward the tail end of that journey, I started to see more and more changes coming up in China’s biopharma industry, particularly the trend moving toward innovative medicines. BeiGene is unique in that it was founded with a goal to create affordable and accessible medicines and to truly transform the industry. I knew this would be the place where I build my legacy.
What is one thing you have learned about running a younger pharma company like Beigene to be successful?
Established companies usually have processes in everything they do, and that’s something a young company typically grows into.
What can we expect to see from Beigene in 2020?
2019 was an exciting year for us as a company, [with] two drug approvals — our BTK inhibitor Brukinsa (zanubrutinib) in the U.S. and our PD-1 inhibitor tislelizumab in China. We also entered a key collaboration agreement with Amgen. We expect to continue the momentum for 2020, with a number of key trial readouts, commercialization of our PD-1 along with five in-licensed drugs in China, and the completion of our Guangzhou biologics manufacturing site Phase 2 construction. Of course, there will be more.
If you weren't a scientist, what do you think you'll be doing?
I was a scientist with a Ph.D. in biochemistry and pharmacology, but I’ve been in commercial for many years at this point. And truth be told, after all these years working to bring medicines to people in need, I wouldn’t want to go into anything else.
Can you tell me about how you joined Beigene? For example, did you know co-founder John Oyler or anyone from the exec team before? What made you say yes to joining Beigene in the end?
Our co-founder Dr. Xiaodong Wang is a renowned scientist who has contributed a great deal to the research and discovery in biopharma, and we’ve known each other for a while. John came in through my network, and aside from his entrepreneurial success, I was blown away by the unmatched vision he has for where the biopharma industry is heading in China. I was GM of China at Bayer, Wyeth, and later Pfizer for altogether 20 years. Toward the tail end of that journey, I started to see more and more changes coming up in China’s biopharma industry, particularly the trend moving toward innovative medicines. BeiGene is unique in that it was founded with a goal to create affordable and accessible medicines and to truly transform the industry. I knew this would be the place where I build my legacy.
What is one thing you have learned about running a younger pharma company like Beigene to be successful?
Established companies usually have processes in everything they do, and that’s something a young company typically grows into.
What can we expect to see from Beigene in 2020?
2019 was an exciting year for us as a company, [with] two drug approvals — our BTK inhibitor Brukinsa (zanubrutinib) in the U.S. and our PD-1 inhibitor tislelizumab in China. We also entered a key collaboration agreement with Amgen. We expect to continue the momentum for 2020, with a number of key trial readouts, commercialization of our PD-1 along with five in-licensed drugs in China, and the completion of our Guangzhou biologics manufacturing site Phase 2 construction. Of course, there will be more.
If you weren't a scientist, what do you think you'll be doing?
I was a scientist with a Ph.D. in biochemistry and pharmacology, but I’ve been in commercial for many years at this point. And truth be told, after all these years working to bring medicines to people in need, I wouldn’t want to go into anything else.
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