Ascentage Pharma Appoints Mr. Yiqing Chen as Chief Financial Officer

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Nov 29, 2021, 06:01 ET

SUZHOU, China, and ROCKVILLE, MD., Nov. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascentage Pharma (6855.HK), a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in developing novel therapies for cancers, chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and age-related diseases, today announced the appointment of Mr. Yiqing Chen as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), reporting directly to Dr. Dajun Yang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ascentage Pharma. As a member of the company's senior executive team, Mr. Chen will focus his work on the capital market, financial management, investor relations, to drive company's long-term and sustained growth in the capital market.

Prior to joining Ascentage Pharma, Mr. Chen was Vice CFO and General Manager of Investor Relations and Capital Deployment at Fosun Pharma; and Deputy General Manager and CFO at BGI Genomics for years, having accumulated deep expertise in the capital market and corporate finance. During his tenure at BGI Genomics, Mr. Chen accomplished a series of well-known financing projects in the life sciences industry, under the leadership of the company's Chairman and General Manager. These projects include capital transactions and operational initiatives such as Initial Public Offering (IPO) in mainland China, issuance of corporate debt, refinancing, and restructuring the company's financial organization. Previously, Mr. Chen spent eight years at accounting firms and in project management at securities companies, having served as Director of Investment Banking at Citi Orient Securities, Deputy Director of Investment Banking at Orient Securities, and senior auditor at the Shanghai branch of Ernst & Young. Mr. Chen is a Certified Public Accountant in China, senior fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the ACCA's Expert Committee for South China. He graduated from the Department of Food Science & Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and obtained an MBA degree in Finance from China Europe International Business School (CEIBS). Mr. Chen is the recipient of multiple prestigious awards, including the CGMA's "Most Valued CFO" award and "China CFO of the Year" award by the New Wealth Management magazine.

"Mr. Chen has a wealth of experience with the capital market, corporate finance, and investment and financing for publicly listed companies. We are pleased to have him joining us as Ascentage Pharma reaches an inflection point in its transition towards the commercial-stage and accelerates its global clinical development," said Dr. Dajun Yang, Chairman & CEO of Ascentage Pharma. "Mr. Chen is a valued addition to our management team. I am confident that Mr. Chen, with his talent and deep experience, will help drive the company's rapid and long-term growth in the capital market, and enable us to meet our next set of strategic objectives."

"I am truly impressed by Ascentage Pharma's dedication to addressing the unmet clinical needs of patients in China and around the world, and the company's pipeline of novel therapies with first-in-class and best-in-class potentials for the treatment of cancers, chronic hepatitis B, and age-related diseases," said Mr. Chen. "The company's outstanding capabilities in R&D and global innovation are widely recognized in the industry. Meanwhile, the company's lead product olverembatinib was just approved in China, opening a whole new chapter in the company's commercialization and development. It is my great honor to join Ascentage Pharma's talented team at such a momentous time. I look forward to leveraging my knowledge and experience with the capital market and the biopharmaceutical industry to help the company create even greater value for its stakeholders and realize its long-term vision."

About Ascentage Pharma

Ascentage Pharma (6855.HK) is a globally focused biopharmaceutical company engaged in developing novel therapies for cancers, chronic hepatitis B, and age-related diseases. On October 28, 2019, Ascentage Pharma was listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited with the stock code 6855.HK.

Ascentage Pharma focuses on developing therapeutics that inhibit protein-protein interactions to restore apoptosis, or programmed cell death. The company has built a pipeline of eight clinical drug candidates, including novel, highly potent Bcl-2, and dual Bcl-2/Bcl-xL inhibitors, as well as candidates aimed at IAP and MDM2-p53 pathways, and next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Ascentage Pharma is also the only company in the world with active clinical programs targeting all three known classes of key apoptosis regulators. The company is conducting more than 40 Phase I/II clinical trials in the US, Australia, Europe, and China. Ascentage Pharma has been designated for multiple Major National R&D Projects, including five Major New Drug Projects, one New Drug Incubator status, four Innovative Drug Programs, and one Major Project for the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases. Ascentage Pharma has already submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) for olverembatinib, the company's core drug candidate developed for the treatment of drug-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and was subsequently granted Priority Review status and a Breakthrough Therapy for the drug candidate. In addition, the olverembatinib was also granted an Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) and a Fast Track Designation (FTD) by the US FDA. To date, Ascentage Pharma has obtained a total of 12 ODDs from the US FDA and 1 Orphan Designation from the EC for four of the company's investigational drug candidates.

Leveraging its robust R&D capabilities, Ascentage Pharma has built a portfolio of global intellectual property rights and entered into global partnerships with numerous renowned biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and research institutes such as UNITY Biotechnology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Mayo Clinic, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, MSD, and AstraZeneca. The company has built a talented team with global experience in the discovery and development of innovative drugs and is setting up its world-class commercial manufacturing and Sales & Marketing teams. One pivotal aim of Ascentage Pharma is to continuously strengthen its R&D capabilities and accelerate its clinical development programs, in order to fulfil its mission of addressing unmet clinical needs in China and around the world for the benefit of more patients.

SOURCE Ascentage Pharma