Vice Chairman, Taiwan Bio Industry Organization / Chairman and CEO, Onward Therapeutics SA
Dr. C. Grace Yeh is Chairman and CEO of Onward Therapeutics SA, a Swiss biotech company. She also serves as Vice Chairman, Taiwan Biotechnology Organization; and Standing Director, Taiwan Research-based Biopharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (TRPMA). From 2003 to 2019, she was Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of PharmaEngine, Inc., a publicly traded commercial stage oncology company (TWO:4162) headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan with a wholly owned subsidiary in Paris, France. Its market capitalization on the Taipei Exchange exceeded US$1 billion. The company has successfully developed Onivydeâ (irinotecan liposome injection) and licensed it to Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA for US$266.5 million plus royalty. Onivyde has been approved for the second line treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer patients by Taiwan FDA and US FDA in October 2015, as well by EMA in October 2016. It has been approved in more than 40 countries and recognized as the standard of care in these major markets. The company also in-licensed the Asia Pacific rights to an innovative radioenhancer (PEP503/NBTXR3) from Nanobiotix in Paris, France in 2012. The product candidate passed the pivotal study in soft tissue sarcoma, and it received European market approval (CE Mark) in 2019. Prior to returning to Taiwan, she served in senior positions at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, LeukoSite, CytoMed, and T Cell Sciences, all based in Cambridge, MA, USA. Before joining the industry, she worked in academic research at INSERM (National Institutes of Health and Medical Research) in France; and Blond Mclndoe Centre for Transplantation Biology in England. Dr. Yeh received her B.S. in Biology from Fu-Jen University, Taiwan, and her Ph.D. in Immunology from Medical University of South Carolina, USA. She has over 70 peer-reviewed publications and 6 issued US patents. She was awarded Outstanding Alumni Award by Fu-Jen University in 2015 and EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2016.
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