Dajun Yang

Dajun Yang, Ph.D., is the Co-Founder, Chairman of the Board, and Chief Executive Officer of Ascentage Pharma. Dr. Yang has dedicated his career to the research on apoptosis and innovative drug R&D for nearly 30 years. In 2009, he co-founded Ascentage Pharma and made major breakthroughs in the research of development of precision drugs targeting apoptosis and autophagy dual-channel regulation. Ascentage Pharma is the only company in the world that researches and develops innovative drugs targeting all of these pathways. Ascentage Pharma currently has eight potential “First-in-class” or “Best-in-class” innovative drug candidates in Phase I/II clinical developments in China, the United States and Australia. Dr. Yang has undertaken nearly ten National Science and Technology Major Projects such as the National High-tech R&D Program (the “863 Program”) and the Major Innovative Drug Developments program. The team led by Dr. Yang has won multiple awards such as the Major Innovation Team of Suzhou and Jiangsu, the First Jiangsu Innovation Competition Team Award, and the R&D Achievement of the Year 2017 from the BayHelix Group. Dr. Yang is the recipient of the 2018 “Dushu Lake Prize” for the Most Influential Leader in Drug R&D， an award widely recognized in the field drug R&D. Dr. Yang was the president of Chinese Biopharmaceutical Association-USA from 2005 to 2006 and has concurrently served as professor and Ph.D. supervisor at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, vice director of the Drug R&D Specialty Committee of China Pharmaceutical Innovation and Research Development Association, and part-time researcher in Pharmaceutical Innovations at Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Yang is the author or co-author of 92 publications and the inventor of 14 patents. He was a co-founder, chief staff writer and editor for two national magazines in China, namely “Chinese Medical Students” and “Family Doctors”. Nowadays “Family Doctors” has a monthly publication volume of over one million and it has the mission to promote both healthcare and a healthy lifestyle in China.