Management Team

Dajun Yang, M.D., Ph.D., our co-founder, Chairman and CEO, has dedicated over 30 years to the research in oncology, the apoptosis pathway, as well as the R&D of innovative drugs. Since co-founding Ascentage Pharma in 2009, he made major breakthroughs in drug development and advanced multiple drug candidates with global first-/best-in-class potentials into clinical development in China, US, Australia and Europe. Prior to co-founding our company, Dr. Yang co-founded Ascenta Therapeutics, Inc. Prior to that, Dr. Yang was a part-time professor and supervisor of doctoral students at the Cancer Center at Sun Yat-sen University from 2003 to 2006 and an Associate Professor and Senior Investigator at the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University from 1995 to 2001

Dr. Yang has led nearly 10 National Science & Technology Major Projects including the National High-tech R&D Program (863 Program) and “Major New Drug Development” projects. Being highly recognized for his work, Dr. Yang serves a range of positions outside his primary responsibilities, including professor and Ph.D. supervisor at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, deputy 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. In addition, Dr. Yang has served as the 8th president (2005-2006) of the Chinese Biopharmaceutical Association (CBA), USA. He and his team, widely respected in field of novel drug development, have received a series of high profile recognitions and prominent awards, including the Team for Major Innovations designations by both Suzhou municipality and Jiangsu province; the first ever Award for Teams Pioneering Innovations in Jiangsu province; the 2022 Team of Excellence in Science and Technology of Suzhou; the Tan Jiazhen Life Science Industrialization Award; Top 10 Business Leaders in the Pharmaceutical Industry, by the 14th Health China Forum organized by the People’s Daily; and the Dushu Lake Cup Award for Most Innovative Figure of Drug R&D.

Dr. Yang received his Bachelor’s in Medicine and his Master’s in Oncology from Sun Yat-sen University in China and his Ph.D. in Genetics from Michigan State University. Dr. Yang has published more than 70 articles including peer-reviewed articles and is an inventor of 22 issued U.S. patents.

Yifan Zhai, M.D., Ph.D., our chief medical officer, has over 30 years of experience in cancer research and new drug development at the National Cancer Institute, or NCI, and in the global pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Zhai has held leadership positions primarily in the scientific research and clinical development at Human Genome Sciences Inc., now GSK, Bayer, Exelixis and Celladon Corporation, where she has led and contributed to bring more than 40 innovative new drugs, including small molecule drugs, monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins and gene therapeutics to various stages of clinical development, including four drugs (cabozantinib, mapatumumab, sorafenib and olverembatinib) that have been launched into the market. Dr. Zhai has published more than 40 peer-reviewed papers and is an inventor of more than 20 issued U.S. patents and 230 international patents.

Dr Zhai obtained her M.D. from Sun Yat-sen University, and received her Ph.D. degree in Pharmacology and Toxicology from Michigan State University.

Veet Misra, Ph.D., our Chief Financial Officer, has more than 20 years of experience in investment banking. Prior to joining Ascentage Pharma, he was a Managing Director in the Healthcare Investment Banking group at Cantor Fitzgerald where he covered the biopharmaceutical sector. Before that, he worked in the life sciences investment banking groups at Houlihan Lokey and RBC Capital Markets. Over the course of his banking career, Dr. Misra advised on deals spanning equity, equity-linked, debt, and debt restructuring, as well as buy-side/sell-side M&A and corporate strategy, primarily focusing on the biotechnology sector. Dr. Misra earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, with a focus on the oncology field, from the University of Toronto and an MBA in Finance & Strategy from the Schulich School of Business in Toronto.

Dr. Tandon has over 20 years of experience in the biotechnology space spanning business development, M&A and drug development. Prior to joining Ascentage, Dr. Tandon served as Vice President of Business Development at InnoCare , where he was responsible for the company’s business development strategy and execution, external collaborations, licensing and M&A. Dr. Tandon was also served as Vice President of business development, alliance management, new product planning and intellectual property at ArQule, an oncology-focused drug developer.

Dr. Tandon has proven transactional expertise in bio-pharmaceutical industry. Most recently, Dr. Tandon played a key role in the acquisition of ArQule by Merck for $2.7 billion. 

Dr. Tandon earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Brown University and completed his postdoctoral research at Cornell University. Dr. Tandon earned his MBA from Questrom School of Business at Boston University. He received his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Delhi University.

Thomas J. Knapp, J.D. has served as our Senior Vice President, General Counsel since March 2019. He was previously our Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs from 2018 to March 2019. From 2018 to February 2019, he served as a consultant at SELLAS Life Sciences Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SLS), which acquired Galena Biopharma, Inc. in a reverse merger. Prior to that, from 2015 to 2018, Mr. Knapp was the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Galena Biopharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company previously listed on Nasdaq. From 2010 to 2015, he was Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company acquired by Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. From 2009 to 2010, he was a consultant to NorthWestern Energy Corporation (NYSE: NWE) and Of Counsel at Exemplar Law Partners, LLC, where he advised clients on renewable energy and financing funding. From 2003 to 2008, he was Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at NorthWestern Energy Corporation (NYSE: NWE). From 1996 to 1998 and 1999 to 2002, he was Of Counsel at Paul Hastings LLP and has also served as Assistant General Counsel of The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) from 1998 to 1999. Mr. Knapp was appointed as the Assistant Attorney General of the State of Illinois in 1978. In addition, he was also a mediation panelist of the American Bar Association from 2015 to 2018. From 2017 to April 2019, Mr. Knapp served on the board of directors of Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., which was previously listed on Nasdaq (Nasdaq: OSIR) and subsequently acquired by Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE: SNN) in April 2019. Mr. Knapp received his Bachelor’s in Political Science and Business from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his Juris Doctor from the Loyola University of Law.

Dr. Zhichao Si has 18 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, having held frontline and cross-functional management roles at leading companies including Novartis, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Hengrui, and InnoCare. He has extensive overseas study and work experience in Europe and the United States. Dr. Si brings deep expertise in the commercialization of innovative drugs, particularly in oncology. He led the successful launches of Imbruvica and Orelabrutinib in China and oversaw the full lifecycle management of multiple blockbuster oncology products. Before joining Ascentage Pharma, he served as Vice President at Ji Xing Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for the commercialization of the company’s innovative pipeline.
Dr. Si holds a Ph.D. in Neurosurgery from Shandong University and completed his postdoctoral research at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.

Dr. Chongdong Fu is currently the SVP & Head of CMC at Ascentage Pharma where he is in charge of pharmacological development, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and supply chain management. Dr. Fu has a doctorate in pharmacology from Fudan University; a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree from The Second Military Medical University. Commanding over 30 years of experience in the development and manufacturing of innovative drugs and generic drugs, Dr. Fu was named a Top Talent in Science and Technology by the Suzhou Industrial Park in 2017.

Prior to joining Ascentage Pharma, Dr. Fu served as Vice President at HUTCHMED (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and General Manager at HUTCHMED (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. where he participated in the research and development of multiple innovative oncology drugs, with responsibilities ranging from process development to technology transfers and process validations; clinical to commercial manufacturing; as well as the supply chain management for both clinical and commercial-stage products, having played an integral role in the successful registration and launch of three innovative cancer drugs, namely fruquintinib, surufatinib, and savolitinib. During this time, Dr. Fu was fully involved in the planning, design and operational management of HUTCHMEN’s manufacturing center in Suzhou, as well as the manufacturing, on-site PAI inspections, GMP audits and the supply and distribution of two commercialized products. Moreover, Dr. Fu also took part in the design of HUTCHMED’s manufacturing site in Shanghai.

Before this, Dr. Fu was the Head of CMC at MicuRx, Head of Drug Formulations at Frontage, and the Head of R&D at the Hong Kong based Bright Future Pharmaceutical Laboratories Limited, during which time he effectively supported the successful registration and launch of multiple innovative and generic drugs, having developed deep expertise in pharmacological research, project management and GMP-compliant manufacturing.