James Yan

James Yan, Ph.D., has been our Chief Operating Officer, R&D since April 2020. Prior to this role, he was the Executive Vice President and Head of Pre-Clinical Development and Program & Portfolio Management. Prior to joining Zai Lab, Dr. Yan was the head of the Covance early development Shanghai site, where he was responsible for all aspects of the business. Between 2009 and 2012, Dr. Yan served as the head of drug safety evaluation and program management of Hutchison Medi-Pharma. Prior to Hutchison Medi-Pharma, Dr. Yan had significant experience at Pfizer in the United States. Over the course of his career, Dr. Yan was involved in many IND and NDA filings for multiple drug candidates and gained substantial experience working with regulatory agencies in several countries.

Dr. Yan holds a Ph.D. from Peking Union Medical University and completed post-doctoral training at the University of Chicago’s Ben-May Institute for Cancer Research. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Toxicology (DABT), a council member of the China Society of Toxicology and a member of the Drug Toxicity and Drug Safety Evaluation Committee, a member of Pharmaceutical Toxicology Committee of China Pharmacology Society and vice chairman of Drug R&D Committee of China Pharmaceutical Innovation and Research Association (PhIRDA).