Zai Lab appoints AstraZeneca's William Liang as CCO

Zai Lab, a Shanghai-based innovative biopharmaceutical company, recently announced that Mr William Liang has been appointed Chief Commercial Officer, reporting to Dr. Samantha Du, Zai Lab’s Chief Executive ­­Officer.

Mr. Liang brings more than two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, heading China and regional commercial operations of global companies, with expertise in commercial launch, strategy and operations. Mr William was instrumental in establishing market-leading oncology and other franchises in China for AstraZeneca and Roche, overseeing commercial success of top selling drugs such as, but not limited to, Tagrisso, Iressa, Tarceva, MabThera, Herceptin, Avastin and Pegasys.

"William is an accomplished leader in the pharmaceutical sector, particularly in China, with a clear, proven track record and relevant experience to support the progress of our product portfolio through commercialization," said Dr. Du. "Zai Lab is moving into commercial stage this year with the anticipated launch of our first commercial product, ZL-2306, in Hong Kong, S.A.R., China, and we are looking forward to working closely with William to start building out our China commercial platform across our broad portfolio covering multiple therapeutic areas. We already have six programs in late-stage development and expect several important clinical milestones this year. We will continue to further expand and strengthen our position as the ‘Gateway for China’ for our strategic partners, while advancing our in-house discovery efforts."

Prior to joining Zai Lab, William served as Vice President at AstraZeneca heading up the Oncology Business Unit in China. Under his leadership, AstraZeneca built a top performing oncology franchise in China by significantly outgrowing the market with many successful product launches, including setting a new benchmark for the successful market launch of Tagrisso. During his tenure, Mr. Liang expanded his team from approximately 500 to 2,000 professionals and introduced a patient-centric business model to establish AstraZeneca’s oncology leadership position in China. 

"I am very excited to join Samantha and the talented team at Zai Lab, a leading biopharmaceutical company with an exceptional track record and reputation for advancing clinically important therapeutics for the China and global markets," commented Mr. Liang. 

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