APAC’s Premier CGT Congress - Uniting Leaders, Innovation, and Quality

Dr. Jimmy Chang is an accomplished biopharmaceutical executive and scientist with over three decades of global experience spanning drug development, clinical development, regulatory strategy, and commercialization. He currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of TaiMed Biologics, a publicly traded company on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and a recognized innovator in HIV treatment.

Under Dr. Chang’s leadership, TaiMed successfully achieved U.S. FDA approval and commercialization of Trogarzo® (ibalizumab)—the world’s first and only long-acting monoclonal antibody for the treatment of HIV, marking a breakthrough in the fight against multidrug-resistant HIV. His strategic vision has helped transform TaiMed from a development-stage enterprise into a fully integrated, commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company. The company now boasts capabilities in antibody innovation, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), CDMO services, and operates its own GMP biologics manufacturing facility in Taiwan.

Dr. Lin is a biomedical scientist with over 20 years of experience in life science industries, spanning medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biomaterials, and biochips. He previously served as Deputy Project Director at Taiwan’s ITRI, leading global strategic alliances. As Senior VP at Body Organ Biomedical Inc., he expanded operations across Taiwan, China, and the Netherlands, establishing sales networks and securing regulatory approvals.

He led cross-border R&D collaborations, securing a €300,000 SenterNovem grant in 2009, and successfully filed 36 patents through joint research. Earlier, he also completed Taiwan's first bone filler registration. Dr. Lin holds a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from National Taiwan University and an MBA from National Chengchi University.

Zach Pang is Group Leader at the Bioprocessing Technology Institute, A*STAR and Senior Scientist at the Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR, where he leads a research team to drive digitalisation in biomanufacturing. His research interests include mechanistic modelling and process modelling of bioprocesses. He is also Assistant Professor (adj) at NUS Department of Biomedical Engineering and NTU School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Biotechnology. Zach is also a co-founder and chief scientific advisor of AuctuCel Pte Ltd, a biotech company that develops AI-powered and ready-to-use culture media to improve biomanufacturing yield. 

Zach developed an interest in cross-disciplinary research when he was pursuing his Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Singapore, where he did his undergraduate research on cancer cell mechanics. He later pursued a PhD in Bioengineering at Imperial College London under the A*STAR Scholarship, and more recently completed a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) from the Swiss School of Management. Zach Pang also holds a Master of Business Administration from Quantic School of Business and Technology and a postgraduate certificate in learning and teaching in higher education from the University of London. He is a chartered engineer (CEng) with the Engineering Council UK, an associate fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK (AFHEA) and a member of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (MIPEM).

Dr. Warren Chan is the Dean of the College of Engineering and the President’s Chair Professor in Engineering at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). He received his B.S. degree from the University of Illinois in 1996, Ph.D. from Indiana University in 2001, post-doctoral training at the University of California (San Diego). He started as an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto from 2002, became Full professor in 2012, and the Canadian Research Chair in Nanoengineering. He was the Director of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering before joining NTU. His lab develops nanotechnology for diagnosing and treating cancer and infectious diseases. He is an Executive Editor of ACS Nano. 

A/Prof Bi is a Senior Principal Scientist with over 30 years of research experience in protein analytics and proteomics. He joined A*STAR in 2009 and currently leads the protein analytics group at the Bioprocessing Technology Institute. He works closely with industry partners on streamlined LC-MS technologies for the versatile characterisation of biotherapeutic product quality attributes, as well as on innovative real-time online process analytical technologies and sensors for automated monitoring of process parameters and product quality. Since 2019, he has also served as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School for clinical proteomics, and since 2023 at the Singapore Institute of Technology for food proteomics.

A seasoned biopharmaceutical leader with over 20 years of experience spanning clinical research, medical affairs, and strategic drug development across CRO’s and Pharma/Biotech’s. Recognized for leading Regional Medical Affairs teams, delivering key pivotal clinical trials, driving regulatory approvals, and launching breakthrough therapies in Oncology and Neurology across the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan and Australia. In recent years my focus has been on delivering life changing therapies such as CAR T and making them accessible in the South Asian regions. On a personal note, I am an avid Bike rider and Badminton player having won several competitions.

Dr Paula Lam serves as the Chief Scientific Officer at BioCell Innovations Pte Ltd., a Singapore based start-up company dedicated to advancing cell and gene therapies for patients-in-need. She earned her PhD from University of Leeds in UK majoring in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, and did her postdoctoral trainings at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital (Tennessee, USA) as well as Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, USA) before returning to Singapore to lead a research team at the National Cancer Center, focusing on the development of novel viral and cell-based vectors for targeted therapies against cancer. Building on her extensive experience, she now leads a team focused on developing CAR constructs and refining closed-system manufacturing processes to enhance the efficiency and safety of cell-based therapies.

Dr Rathjen is a highly experienced and respected leader in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries within Australia and internationally, and has achieved in excess of $800 million in deals including partnerships with Merck & Co., J&J, Abbott (AbbVie), Celgene, Nycomed (Takeda) and Merck KGaA. An immunologist by training, Dr Rathjen has extensive R&D experience in the areas of infection and immunity, inflammation, oncology, and neuroscience, covering multiple treatment modalities.

As well as heading up Carina Biotech, Dr Rathjen is currently a member of the Australian Medical Research Future Fund Advisory Board, the Million Minds Mental Health Research Mission Expert Panel, the Stem Cell Therapies Mission Expert Panel and the Federal Government’s Biomedical Translation Fund Committee.

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Ryuichi Morishita, M.D., Ph.D., graduated Osaka University Medical School in 1987, and received Ph. D. from Osaka University in 1991. After following postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine, he served as an Assistant Professor, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Osaka University Medical School from 1994 to 1998. Then, from 1998 to 2003, he was Associate Professor, Division of Gene Therapy Science, Osaka University Medical School. Then, he became Professor & Chairman of Division of Clinical Gene Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University Medical School from 2003 to present.

Yen Choo is Associate Professor of Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine at Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKC Medicine), a joint medical school of Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Imperial College London.

He is also Executive Director of co11ab@Novena, a BioMedtech incubator established jointly between NTU, the National Healthcare Group (HNG) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

Prof. Choo serves on the board of the Advanced Cell Therapy and Research Institute, Singapore (ACTRIS), a GMP facility established for process development and manufacturing of cell-based therapeutics.

In addition to his academic career, he is a serial entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in biotechnology companies developing advanced therapies.

His research, inventions and companies have been recognised by numerous prizes including The Queen’s Award in Enterprise for Innovation.

He holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Cambridge, and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology together with Nobel laureate Aaron Klug.

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Dr. Lu-En Wai is an accomplished immunologist with over 15 years of expertise in immunology research, specializing in cellular immunotherapy, cancer, and Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) immunopathogenesis. She holds a Ph.D. in Immunology from Stanford University, earned under an A*STAR scholarship, with a focus on immune cell interactions in liver transplantation and cancer. Dr. Wai has made significant contributions at research institutions including the Singapore Immunology Network and Duke-NUS, where she investigated metastatic tumour microenvironment and HBV immunopathogenesis. Currently, as Senior Director of Research and Development at Lion TCR, she leads initiatives in T cell receptor (TCR) immunotherapy and diagnostic technologies aimed at combating viral infections and viral-related cancers. She is passionate about translating cutting-edge research into practical, clinically effective therapies.

Founder member of Zumutor Biologics. Designed and directed scientific, research, and technological operations to achieve overall R&D missions of Zumutor. My goal is to build a resilient scientific team at Zumutor, implementation of translational research and empower them to achieve height of their career.

A visionary, seasoned, and dynamic professional with extensive scientific, regulatory, and clinical expertise in developing biologic therapies within the field of immuno-oncology. I am dedicated to driving corporate growth and innovation by translating goals and objectives into actionable strategies that support Zumutor's mission of advancing a novel immuno-oncology biotherapeutic pipeline.

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Dr Supannikar (Fai) Tawinwung is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology at Chulalongkorn University and the co-founder of Cellmidi, a biotech spin-off focused on innovative CAR T cell therapies. Dr. Tawinwung has led the development of Thailand’s first GMP-compliant CAR T cell manufacturing platform and the country’s first-in-human trials in lymphoma, and pediatric brain tumors. Her research centers on engineering CAR T cells to overcome immunosuppressive environments in solid tumors. With a passion for translating science into accessible therapies, she bridges academic and entrepreneurial efforts to expand the reach of next-generation immunotherapies in Southeast Asia.

Sacha is a cell biologist with over 18 years of experience in academia and the biotech/pharmaceutical industry, specializing in cell therapy development. She holds a PhD in Pharmacology from Monash University, with postdoctoral training in Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University, and was a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at Weill Cornell Medical College.​

Sacha has led the development of cell therapy platform technologies across multiple startups and played a key role in bringing cell therapies to market. Her work spans target validation, process development, GMP readiness, technology transfer, and commercialization, bringing a strong translational focus to the advancement of cell-based therapies.​

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Dr. Dunn has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of immunology, haematology, translational medicine and drug development. She was involved in the discovery of KappaMab, the company’s lead therapeutic antibody that targets a novel antigen called kappa myeloma antigen (KMA) found on the surface of malignant plasma cells but not on normal plasma cells. KappaMab has been used in three clinical trials, and its clinical development is ongoing. She was involved in the design, preclinical and upcoming clinical development of the chimeric antigen receptor that targets KMA (KMA.CAR T-cell).

She was a lead scientist in the discovery of the monoclonal antibody, LambdaMab, that targets lambda myeloma antigen (LMA) on malignant but not normal plasma cells. The chimeric antigen receptor that targets LMA (LMA.CAR T-cell) is in preclinical development.

Sheng Rong is a senior scientist at Nuevocor focusing on preclinical development of the company’s lead program. He received his PhD in Biology from MIT, where he adopted new molecular tools to improve existing preclinical models of cancer, and subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at IMCB, A*STAR, where he developed new models to study epigenetic dysregulation in cancer.

Dr. Kerwin Kwek Zeming is a research scientist at Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) in Singapore. He holds a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from National University of Singapore with research interests in microfluidic technologies for precision cell sorting, profiling, and translational biomedical diagnostics. As a scientific innovator, Dr. Kwek has developed label-free microfluidic diagnostic tools for high-throughput, marker-free separation and single-cell cell analysis. His work has led to advances in immune cell profiling, with applications ranging from lab-on-a-chip diagnostics to neonatal sepsis screening. He has published in several leading journals, highlighting the impact of his contributions to the field.

Dr. Horak brings more than 20 years of experience in the global pharmaceutical industry, predominantly focused on oncology drug development, and is a board-certified medical oncologist. Prior to funding Tikva Allocell, Dr. Horak was Head of Global R&D and Chief Scientific at Tessa Therapeutics, a mid-stage cell therapy company in Singapore. For eight years, he was Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Officer at Symphogen, a clinical-stage antibody company, and President of R&D at Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Horak has also held a number of senior research leadership positions in various pharmaceutical companies as well as at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health in US. During his career, Dr. Horak has advanced multiple oncology treatments into the clinic, and has successfully led a number of FDA new drug applications. 

Siang-Chueng Koo is the Director, Innovative Medicine Regulatory Compliance at Johnson & Johnson, where she leads the quality compliance program for J&J manufacturing sites, marketing companies and distribution centers in the 14 Asia Pacific markets.  Proficient with global GMP, GCTP and GDP requirements, Siang also has a special interest on cell therapy.  Siang has 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical sector in quality compliance, supply chain, procurement and consulting. As an Asian Compliance Leader with a Lean Sigma Black Belt, Siang is skilled with driving compliance improvement programs and remediation activities.  Before joining Johnson & Johnson, she worked at the Singapore Health Authority (Health Sciences Authority HSA), GSK and Abbott.  She was a part-time lecturer at National University of Singapore, holds a Master of Health Services Management from Curtin University of Technology, Australia and a Bachelor of Science (Pharmacy)(Hons) from National University of Singapore.

Dr. Cyrus Yang is a seasoned biotech entrepreneur and visionary executive with a proven track record in venture creation, strategic planning, corporate development, and innovation in cell and gene therapy (CGT). He currently serves as CEO of Taiwan Bio Therapeutics, where he has led the company’s transformation into a global CGT ecosystem builder and redefined the commercialization model for advanced therapies. He pioneered the concept of “Therapeutics Design and Manufacturing” (TDM), a novel framework aimed at revolutionizing CGT process and assay development.

Under his leadership, Taiwan Bio has achieved more than a tenfold increase in revenue and closed several high-profile fundraising rounds. In 2024, Cyrus was ranked No. 1 among the Best Biotech CEOs in Taiwan.

Prior to this role, he held leadership positions across multiple startups, including founding MiraqueJ Inc. and Popticlear Inc. Dr. Yang holds a DPhil in Molecular and Cellular Medicine from the University of Oxford.

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Chimeric Therapeutics CEO Dr Rebecca McQualter joined the Company in May 2024, bringing senior experience from a range of big pharma roles. Dr McQualter holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine from Monash University. Dr McQualter has an extensive commercial career with exposure to many aspects of international pharmaceutical operations. This included as the Head of Strategic Access at Novartis Australia, where Dr McQualter developed new commercial partnerships, built external networks spanning policy makers, research institutes and NGOs, and engaged with federal and state government, trade associations and other stakeholders to implement policy and process improvements. Other previous roles include Country Medical Head for Bioverativ ANZ, a $5 billion Biogen spinout focusing on rare diseases, and leadership roles at Amgen and GSK.

Wei-Kai Hua received his Ph.D. from the Institute of Biopharmaceutical Sciences at National Yang-Ming University (NYMU), Taiwan, and carried out his postdoctoral training at City of Hope, California, USA. He has over 15 years of research experience in hematology and oncology. At GenomeFrontier Therapeutics, he has contributed to the development of advanced non-viral cell engineering and manufacturing technologies, including the robust Quantum Engine™ platform, CAR T cell manufacturing, and translational research. He played a principal role in advancing the GF-CART01 product through R&D and IND-enabling stages to clinical studies

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Dr. Ramin Baghirzade is a seasoned executive in the life sciences sector and currently serves as the Global Head of Commercial – Cell & Gene Therapy at Charles River Laboratories. With over 18 years of experience in healthcare and biopharma—including leadership roles at Roche, Lonza, and AGC Biologics—he brings deep expertise in cell and gene therapy and other advanced modalities. At Charles River, Dr. Baghirzade has played a pivotal role in expanding the company’s cell and gene therapy capabilities. He led the development and launch of several innovative manufacturing platforms, including eXpDNA™ (plasmid DNA), nAAVigation® (AAV), and Lentivation™ (lentiviral vectors), aimed at accelerating the path from discovery to commercialization. He was also instrumental in establishing the Charles River Accelerator Program (CAP) and Incubator Program (CIP)—two integrated initiatives that support early-stage ATMP developers through scientific guidance and scalable manufacturing solutions. Dr. Baghirzade holds a Ph.D. in Medical Sciences and an MBA and is a frequent industry speaker and recognized thought leader in the cell and gene therapy field.

Dr. Dinesh Kundu is the CEO & Co-founder of East Ocyon Bio, India’s pioneering biotech startup developing allogeneic CAR-NK and CAR-gamma delta T cell therapies for solid tumors, autoimmune, and rare diseases. A former Army physician with over 15 years in biopharma leadership across India and the US, he is driving innovation in affordable, off-the-shelf cell therapies for global health impact.

Dr. Jun Hu is currently Head of WuXi XDC Client Enabling Center of Excellence and Head of WuXi XDC Singapore Site Management, by leading a diversified team of talents, including CMC leaders, project managers and BDs, to help enable global ADC partners’ success on the CMC projects. He is also leading a team to support construct and manage WuXi XDC new facilities in Singapore Tuas site. He has over 13 years’ comprehensive experience on process development, GMP manufacturing, CMC management, business development as well as team management. Dr. Hu obtained his Ph.D. degree in Bioengineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology, and bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Tsinghua University. Before he joined WuXi Biologics/WuXi XDC he was working in Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Japan on process development and clinical GMP manufacturing.

Christopher Pawlak, Ph.D., had almost 2 decades in leadership position managing External Manufacturing and CDMOs in Pharmaceutical markets all over the globe. He oversaw global supplier management, external manufacturing operations, and strategic partnerships across the company’s biopharmaceutical network, manage finance of external manufacturing network. With over two decades of experience in pharmaceutical supply chain and procurement, he has led initiatives to enhance supplier performance, drive operational efficiency, and foster intercultural collaboration in global manufacturing.

In addition to his industry leadership, Dr. Pawlak serves as a lecturer and Executive Council member at the St. Gallen Integrated IMT Business School, reflecting his ongoing commitment to education and executive development. He is widely recognized as a thought leader in strategic supplier management, intercultural collaboration, and biomanufacturing innovation. 

20+ years driving operational transformation in pharma/biotech, optimising E2E processes (S&OP, network design, product launch) through data integration, digital tools, and cross-functional collaboration. Proven success in change management, cost reduction, supplier management, tech transfer leader for drug product (aseptic processes), and M&A integration within complex matrix environments. Focused on building scalable, patient-centric supply chains. Adept at balancing functional priorities with enterprise strategy while influencing stakeholders at all levels. Passionate about leveraging AI and advanced analytics to enhance decision-making and operational agility. Let’s connect to discuss the future of intelligent pharma operations.