DxVx appoints Yong Gu Lee as new CEO and Kevin Kwon as the new president

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May 16, 2023, 09:00 ET

- Reorganizing the global sales networks and enhancing its capabilities to get global approvals for new drug
- Accelerating value of the new drug pipelines

SEOUL, South Korea, May 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DxVx announced on the 16^th, the board of directors appointed Yong Gu Lee as the new CEO and Kevin Kwon, the former head of global business division at Hanmi Pharm.Co.,Ltd., as the new president. Drawing on the expertise of sales veterans who have more than 30 years of experience, the company plans to actively reorganize the global sales networks, launch new products and further enhance its capabilities to get global approvals for new drugs.

Photo: New CEO Yong Gu Lee and new president Kevin Kwon

The new CEO, Yong Gu Lee, graduated from Hanyang University. He previously served as the leader of sales and marketing strategy teams at Hanmi Pharm.Co.,Ltd, where he established the company's presence in the diabetes and cardiovascular disease business. He also held positions such as the director of management planning office at Beijing Hanmi Pharm. Co., Ltd., managing director of the healthcare business division at Beijing Medi'Care Co., Ltd and vice president of the COREE Group. In particular, he is known as a global marketing and sales expert who had played the vital role for the success of healthcare business at Beijing Hanmi Pharm. Co., Ltd. as well as the COREE Group in China since 2006. In 2022, he led the growth of DxVx's healthcare business, laying the foundation for resuming trading on the stock market. He is highly spoken of his contributions to the company's growth, such as planning the recent antibiotic business in China and launching 12 microbiome-based products.

The new president, Kevin Kwon, holds a bachelor's and master's degree in applied bio-chemistry from Seoul National University, as well as a doctorate in management of technology from Korea University. He worked at the LG Chemical Biotech Research Institute and Regulatory Affairs (RA) Team in the LG Life Science. At Hanmi Pharm.Co.,Ltd, he served as the head of the global business division. He was a key person in global pharmaceutical business operations including global RA, overseas business development, overseas sales, clinical trials for new drug and licensing activities.

During his time at LG Life Science, he acquired rich experience on global registration of vaccines, such as tetravalent, pentavalent and Hib vaccines. He played a pivotal role in obtaining the FDA approval for Rolvedon, which was Hanmi Pharm's first global bio drug for cancer. In addition, he led the successful acquisition of over 100 overseas marketing approvals and registrations as well as global sales activities including FDA approvals for Esomeprazole Sr. Delayed Release Capsule and Synojoynt, around 20 European permits including Ceftriaxone and Podogule. He has garnered a reputation as a global pharmaceutical expert through his successful completion of acquisitions under the FDA's accelerated development program. He obtained fast-track designations for new medicine projects and secured over 150 IND permits in the global market. Moreover, he obtained the most designations for rare medicines in South Korea.

In his career, he served as a joint professor at the Korea University Engineering Graduate School, an advisor for Korea Innovative Medicine Consortium (KimCo), an advisor for the formulation of bio similar regulations for the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, a delegate for opening global markets at the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, and a professor for academic and business cooperation at Catholic University. Currently, he serves as a member of the special committee for global expansion at the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association.

An official from DxVx said, "New CEO Yong Gu Lee is planning to strengthen the sales organizations in and out of the country, and launch new products in the global markets continuously to accelerate the growth of the company. On the other hand, new president Kevin Kwon who is the most renowned global pharmaceutical expert, is planning to expedite the value enhancement of the pipelines for acquiring global permits for new drugs and making strategic partnerships with big pharmaceutical companies."

New president Kevin Kwon will be appointed as a board director from a shareholders' meeting. The former CEO, Sang Tae Park, has been nominated for the board director at Avixgen. In his new role, he intends to continue to make contributions to the company's growth by taking the lead in advancing the pipeline for new drugs and establishing a presence in the North American market.

Sung Jun Han, the nominee for the CEO at Avixgen, holds a doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology from Paris VI University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in the US. He served as the group head at Institute Pasteur Korea. He has outstanding research capabilities in new drug developments, vaccine developments, such as cervical cancer vaccine and hepatitis A vaccine, and peptide drugs. He held leadership positions as the CEO at both BHLBIO and Optipharm. Sang Tae Park, the nominee for the board member at Avixgen, completed the post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School, worked at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard as a researcher, and worked at Psomagen as a CEO for acquiring CLIA certification and US business growth.

SOURCE Dx&Vx