Simcere Salon

16:00-19:00

Boston Convention and Exhibition Center Room 254&255

415 Summer St, Boston, MA 02210

Simcere Innovation

Simcere Innovation Inc. located in Cambridge, MA focuses on the research and development of life-changing therapies for our patients by utilizing cutting-edge technology, including cell and gene therapy. Simcere Innovation provides a remarkably unique model referred to as “internal entrepreneurship”. This model combines research and development with open innovation between partnerships in an effective and creative fashion that fosters growth and success.

Simcere Innovation is currently looking for outstanding scientists who aspire to become entrepreneurs with creative ideas and business plans. The internal entrepreneur will serve as an “internal startup founder” responsible for leading his/her team to successfully complete various projects, while Simcere Innovation provides funding, infrastructure and other resources that are necessary for the completion of ongoing projects. Simcere Innovation is a company of Simcere Pharmaceutical group, which is a fully-integrated pharmaceutical company with a mission to “Making Better Medicines Available to Patients Sooner.” Simcere Pharmaceutical group has over 50 products on the market with three R&D centers, four GMP facilities, and three oversea branches located in the United States of America, Europe and Hong Kong with over 5000 employees worldwide. Simcere has achieved 30% Compound Annual Growth Rate in four consecutive years.

Join us for an evening salon at China Focus@BWB, sponsored by Simcere Innovation. Hear key opinion leaders from academia, business and policymakers share cutting-edge technological achievements in new therapies, new opportunities that China’s recent drug regulatory reforms bring up and new initiative that Simcere brought to Boston.

Join other biotech executives for an evening of informational talks, wine and networking. This event is open to everyone! Registration is free! Complimentary drinks and refreshments are provided.

Date/Time: September 10^th4:00 p.m.- 7:00 p.m.

Address: Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Room 254&255, 415 Summer St., Boston, MA 02210.

Agenda

Room	Time

255	4:00 PM- 4:20 PM	Special Talk “Understanding and curing rare diseases worldwide” Harvey Lodish, Ph.D., Founding Member and Professor, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research/MIT
	4:20 PM- 4:40 PM	Special Talk “PD-1 Cancer Immunotherapy” Gordon J. Freeman, Ph.D.- Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
	4:40 PM- 5:00 PM	Special Talk “The Drug Regulatory Reform and Accelerating New Drug Development in China” Z. Alex Xu, M.D., Ph.D. – Chief Scientist, CFDA/CDE
	5:00 PM-5:10 PM	“Simcere Innovation in Boston” Shawn Xu-Executive Director, Simcere Innovation, Inc.
254A&B	5:20 PM-7:00 PM	Networking

SPEAKERS

Harvey F. Lodish, Ph.D.

Founding Member and Professor, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research/MIT

Dr. Lodish is a Founding Member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Professor of Biology and Professor of Biological Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Lodish is a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, and an Associate (Foreign) Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Boston Children’s Hospital, where he is Chair of the Board of Trustees Research Committee. From 2008 to 2016 he was the Founding Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the group charged with oversight of the state’s 10- year $1 billion investment in the life sciences. He was a founder and scientific advisory board member of several companies including Genzyme, Inc., Arris Pharmaceuticals, Inc, and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and has served on the scientific advisory boards of numerous biopharmaceutical companies. During the 2004 calendar year Dr. Lodish served as President of the American Society for Cell Biology.

Gordon J. Freeman, Ph.D.

Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Gordon J. Freeman, Ph.D. is in the Department of Medical Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and is Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He earned his BA in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from Harvard University. His research has identified the major pathways that control the immune response by inhibiting T cell activation (PD-1/PD-L1 and B7-2/CTLA-4) or stimulating T cell activation (B7-2/CD28). Dr. Freeman is a Fellow of the AACR Academy and received the 2014 William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Tumor Immunology and 2017 Warren Alpert Foundation award for this work that led to the development of PD-1/PD-L1 pathway blockade for cancer immunotherapy.

Z. Alex Xu, M.D., Ph.D.

Chief Scientist, CFDA/CDE

Dr. Xu is currently working in the Center of Drug Evaluation (CDE), Chinese Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), as a chief scientist. Dr. Xu received a master’s degree in pathology and Ph.D. degree in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He completed his Ph.D. research project at Duke University and had his postdoctoral training in the National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR). Dr. Xu had worked as a senior Pharmacologist/Toxicologist in the Office of New Drugs (OND) at US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (US FDA/CDER) since 2006. Before joining the FDA, he worked as a senior scientist in pharmacogenomics and toxicogenomic in Gene Logic Ltd. Dr. Xu is a diplomate of American Board of Toxicology (DABT), a full member of Society of Toxicology (SOT) and the immediate past president of the American Association of Chinese in Toxicology (AACT).

Shawn Xu, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Simcere Innovation, Inc.

Dr. Xu is one of founders of Simcere Innovation, Inc. He is responsible for establishment of Simcere Innovation in Boston, development and implementation of Simcere Innovation’s strategies covering operation models, drug discovery & early development, and external innovation. He also works closely with Simcere’s management team for company’s discovery and early development R&D strategies, and with global BD for external opportunities for collaboration, in-licensing, or investment, etc. Dr. Xu has 15+ year experience in the top pharmaceutical industries and academic institute, including Johnson & Johnson, Hengrui Medicine and University of Rochester. He led and participated in 30+ R&D discovery and early development projects of cell therapies, biologics and small molecule drugs, including several compounds are at IND and clinical development stages. Dr. Xu received his Ph.D. from Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy Medical Science, and he did postdoc training at University of Rochester Medical Center.

REGISTRATION