ACEA Biosciences Appoints Li Xu, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer

Former Vice President and Head of the Oncology Business Unit at Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine assumes position as Chief Medical Officer at ACEA Biosciences.

ACEA Biosciences Inc. (ACEA), a privately owned biotechnology company focused on pioneering cell analysis instrumentation as well as the discovery and development of novel pharmaceuticals for the treatment of chronic diseases, today announced that Dr. Li Xu has joined the company as its Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Xu will lead ACEA’s clinical drug development team in both China and the USA.

“We are very pleased to welcome Li during this exciting time for the company,” said Xiao Xu, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of ACEA. “As we continue the clinical development of our small molecules for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases, Li will contribute extensive strategic leadership, clinical development, and operational skill acquired within the realm of global clinical drug development. Her knowledge and experience in bringing innovative therapies from Phase I to regulatory approval will be a major asset as we continue advancing our EGFR TKI and BTK inhibitor programs towards commercialization.”

“I am delighted to join ACEA at this pivotal time point in the company’s evolution as we seek for rapid and effective clinical development of ACEA’s innovative targeted therapies”, commented Dr. Xu. “I look forward to working closely with our scientific team and key opinion leaders to guide the advancement of these novel molecules – which may have the potential to address significant unmet medical needs and positively impact the lives of millions of patients with cancer and autoimmune disease.”

Dr. Li Xu has over 20 years of hands-on expertise leading global clinical development teams. Prior to joining ACEA she was the Vice President and Head of the Oncology Business Unit at Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co. Ltd, in China. Prior to her role at Jiangsu Hengrui, Dr. Xu was the Vice President of the Oncology Business Unit and Head of Global Oncology Clinical Operations at Pfizer (2009-2013) focused on strategy, planning and execution; and the Director of Global Medical and Scientific Operations, Oncology Clinical Research Operations at Merck and Company (2006-2009). Dr. Li Xu has conducted/participated in multiple US, EU, and global phase I, II and III clinical trials, with 9 of these being US, EU, and global phase III trials. She has also provided strategic leadership to two very successful China FDA NDA registrations, including accelerated approval for Crizotinib (the first in class ALK inhibitor for ALK positive non-small cell lung cancer) during her time at Pfizer, and the approval for Apatinib (VEGF inhibitor for advanced GI cancers) during her time at Jiangsu Hengrui.

About ACEA Biosciences
ACEA Biosciences, Inc. (ACEA) is a privately owned biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative cell analysis instrumentation for life sciences, and on the discovery and development of novel pharmaceutical products for the treatment of chronic diseases. ACEA’s instruments, xCELLigence® and NovoCyte™, are used in preclinical drug discovery and development, toxicology, safety pharmacology, disease studies, and basic academic research. More than 1,700 instruments have been placed globally, leading to >1,250 peer-reviewed publications from both academia and the pharmaceutical industry in diverse applications spanning everything from cancer immunotherapy and cardiotoxicity to chemotactic migration and GPCR inhibition. ACEA has leveraged its technology platform to develop a robust pipeline of clinical and preclinical small molecules for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, with two clinical stage programs running in China and the USA. ACEA Biosciences is headquartered in San Diego, California with world-class manufacturing operations in Hangzhou, China.