Cenova was founded by Dr. Jun WU, one of the earliest successful biotechnology entrepreneur in China, in 2010 with initial investments from the Chinese government. Dr. Wu has since gone on to raise four more funds with a combined AUM of more than USD600 million.

After almost fifteen years of life science research experience in United States, Dr. Wu came back to China in 2001 and co-founded Shanghai Genomics, one of the earliest biotech companies in China, and grew it to become one of the most successful biotech companies established by returnees. He was instrumental in completing the successful merger between Shanghai Genomics and GNI Ltd, a series of subsequent fundraising events, and the initial public listing of the merged company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in 2007. Shanghai Genomics (GNI) was the first China biotech listed on a major international stock exchange, to successfully develop a billion-dollar drug (pirfenidone).

In addition to Dr. Wu’s successful entrepreneurial experience in China’s biotechnology and life science sector, he is also an outstanding scientist. He had obtained and successfully completed over thirty government funded research & development projects in China, including major programs under the auspices of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese National Science Foundation, Shanghai municipal and local government. He is a recipient of the prestigious ‘National Outstanding Young Scientist Award’ from the Chinese National Science Foundation. He has also been an adjunct professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University since 2003. He has made important contributions in the field of immuno-oncology and has published over thirty high-quality research papers in professional journals, including Science, Nature, Nature Genetics, and PNAS.

Dr. Wu comes from a prestigious family of physicians, with members over three generations holding leadership positions in the China healthcare sector. He has a Ph.D. from the University of California San Francisco and studied at Fudan Medical School. He has been a long-term advisor to government healthcare policy-makers and is one of the first batch of government backed healthcare investors to facilitate the transformation of China’s healthcare industry.

Dr. Kai ZHAO joined Cenova in 2014 as a Managing Partner with over 25 years’ experience in healthcare management and investment and has intimate knowledge of the healthcare services sector including hospital management and operations. Prior to Cenova, Dr. Zhao co-founded two hospital management and investment firms, SinoCare and Beijing JiaheGuokang Hospital Management and Investment Co. Ltd. In the past decade, he has led the acquisition and management of five hospitals in various parts of China, including four Tier 2 hospitals and two Tier 3 hospital. These hospitals have since achieved significant revenue growth under his leadership within two years.

Dr. Zhao has served as a financial advisor for Ciming Checkup, one of the largest Chinese preventive healthcare screening companies and completed the A-round investment by CDH. He was also the General Manager of Beijing Haiyinke Group, a bioscience investment firm and a leading biotech incubator in China. In Beijing Science and Technology Venture Investment Co. Ltd., as Head of Bioscience Investments, he led the investments in over ten life science and agriculture companies, including Beilu Pharmaceuticals (listed in ChiNext) and Shenzhen Chipscreen. Earlier in his career, Dr. Zhao spent fourteen years practicing medicine and held various positions of increasing responsibilities at the general hospital at Shenyang Military Region, a leading Tier 3 hospital in China. Dr. Zhao has a M.D. and Ph.D. from the Academy of Military Medical Sciences and the Fourth Military Medical University.

Dr. Walter LAU has over 20 years of experience in life sciences, including biomedical research, sales and marketing, corporate business development, venture start-ups, management of venture backed private companies and private equity investment in Chinese healthcare companies. 

Prior to co-founding Cenova, Dr. Lau was at Fidelity Asia Ventures, where he specialized in healthcare investment in China. This included the series A investment in Hile, an animal healthcare company, together with New Horizon Capital and Vivo Ventures. He was also involved with board responsibilities at the portfolio companies. In Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Lau was responsible for corporate development and he completed various mergers and acquisitions and licensing deals globally.

Dr. Lau have also held positions with increasing responsibilities in Corporate Business Development at Bristol-Myers Squibb, focusing on global business development and mergers and acquisitions. He was in-charge of global licensing activities for Bristol-Myers Squibb’s (“BMS”) oncology franchise and led the external alliance efforts to build BMS early oncology pipeline. Dr. Lau completed transactions ranging from acquiring novel therapeutics (e.g., Ipilimumab), in-licensing of novel technologies in biologics and companion diagnostics (e.g., ImClone and Genomic Health), establishing and managing strategic collaborations (e.g., Exelixis), and out-licensing of BMS's non-core assets. He was head of business development of the former DuPont Pharma’s division after its acquisition by BMS. Prior to BMS, Dr. Lau held positions in field sales, product marketing, and business development at GlaxoSmithKline in the United States. His extensive experience and knowledge in biopharmaceutical innovation and business development is a great asset to Cenova when making investments in and managing innovative pharmaceutical companies.

Mr. Lenian XU, a financial veteran, played a pivotal role in the establishment of major financial institutions, security exchange networks, flagship business districts, and venture capital firms in Shanghai. He has over three decades of experience in investment banking and high-tech investment

Prior to Cenova, Mr. Xu was the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of a leading government-affiliated venture capital fund and he co-founded Shanghai Commercial Investment Group (“SCIG”), one of the largest investment firms and developers in Shanghai. In SCIG, he set up numerous successful venture capital funds and played an active role in the formation and eventual listing of numerous high-tech companies on the Shanghai and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges. Mr. Xu is a Certified Senior Economist in Finance and Securities, and also holds an MBA from Macau University of Science and Technology.

Dr. Adam WANG joined Cenova in 2014 with over 20 years of experience in designing and implementing marketing and sales strategies for multinational companies in China. Adam is currently the General Manager of Optomed China, a Cenova portfolio company. Prior to joining Cenova, Dr. Wang was the Head of Marketing at St. Jude Medical China, where he re-organized the marketing division and re-designed the market strategy, leading to higher profit margin and greater market share. As the Business Unit Head at Boston Scientific China, Dr. Wang founded the Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) Division, developed the product portfolio, and set up a national distribution network. He co-founded Medireach Healthcare Communications (MHC) in 2003 and served as its COO. MHC helped multinational pharmaceutical and device companies form and implement China marketing strategies. Clients of MHC include J&J, GSK and International Nutrition. In 2006, MHC was acquired by CMPMedia, where Dr. Wang also served as the COO to manage the integration and marketing.

Earlier in his career, Dr Wang worked in various sales and technical service roles at Medtronic and 3M in China. He began his career in clinical practice at Shanghai Huashan Hospital, a top hospital in China after receiving his M.D. from Fudan Medical School. Dr Wang also holds an EMBA from China Europe International Business School and a Certificate in Strategic Marketing from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Tao HUANG has over 20 years of combined experience in biomedical research, legal, academia and the life sciences industry. At Cenova, he oversees the intellectual property (“IP”) strategy for the portfolio companies. Prior to Cenova, Dr. Huang was an attorney at several prestigious law firms in the US, including Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, and Morgan Lewis and Bockius. He has advised companies and investors in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries on a broad range of business and legal issues, including patent counselling, licensing, litigation, venture financing, mergers and acquisitions, and initial public offerings. Dr. Huang has provided IP and legal representation to several notable business transactions, including Takeda’s licensing and collaboration deal with Alnylam relating to RNAi therapeutics, Ion Torrent’s acquisition by Life Technologies, and QuantaLife’s acquisition by Bio-Rad Laboratories.

Dr. Huang received a B.Sc. in Biophysics from Nankai University, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Peking Union Medical College's Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and obtained his post-doctoral training in molecular biology and biochemistry from Princeton University. Dr. Huang is a registered United States Patent and Trademark Office attorney in the state of California.

Mr BAI Chengliang is a venture partner at Cenova Capital, with extensive knowledge in the management and operations of hospitals in China. He is a Director of the Chinese Non-Government Medical Institutions Association and an Executive Director of the Shanghai Association of Non-Government Medical Institutions.

Mr. Bai has worked as a Director and General Manager in various public and private hospitals in China. He was a Senior Manager in various sizeable medical groups including Shanghai Grand Enterprises Medical Group and Shanghai Medea Hospital Group. Mr. Bai accumulated his unique experiences in running the operations of ophthalmology hospitals as the General Manager and President of Shanghai Heping Eye Hospital and Shanghai Ren-Ai Hospital. He was previously an Operating Partner at CITIC Capital.

Mr. Bai graduated from Zhejiang University majoring in Clinical Medicine and received his EMBA from Zhejiang University.

Dr. Dequan REN was the Deputy Commissioner of the Chinese Food and Drug Administration (“CFDA”) between 1998 and 2005, overseeing the medical technology sector. Prior to CFDA, Dr. Ren was the general manager of China National Pharmaceutical Group, the largest medical and healthcare conglomerate in China, directly under the management of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission(“SASAC”) of the State Council. He was also the Chairman of the China Association of Pharmaceutical Commerce (“CAPC”), China Traditional Chinese Medicine Association and one of the nine members of the Biotechnology Expert Committee for the National 863 Project, a national high-technology development project under the auspices of the State Council.

Dr. Ren has made major contributions to the standardization of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the establishment of the Good Laboratory Practice, the modernization of the Chinese pharmaceutical industry, and the industrialization of genetically-engineered medicine.

Mr. Minghe CHEN co-founded Mindray in 1991 and has served as the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Strategic Officer and Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Mindray Medical International Co. Ltd. between 2000 and 2013. Mindray is the largest Chinese medical device company operating in three key segments: Patient Monitoring and Life Support Products, In-Vitro Diagnostic Products, and Medical Imaging Systems. Prior to Mindray, Mr. Cheng was the Vice President for Rayto Life and Analytical Sciences Co. Ltd.

Mr. Cheng received his Bachelor and Masters Degree in Biomedical Engineering from Shanghai Jiaotong University.

As a Senior Vice President and Head of Emerging Markets Research and Development, at Merck & Co., Dr. Ruiping DONG served as a member of the Research Laboratory Leadership (“RLT”) team, the Emerging Markets Leadership (“EMLT”) team and a Board of Director for Merck-Simcere Pharmaceutical joint venture.

Prior to Merck, Dr. Dong was the Vice President and Head of Research and Development for the Chinese and Japanese divisions at Bristol Myers-Squibb (“BMS”). In his role as Vice President of Global Medical Affairs, Emerging Markets and Asia-Pacific, Dr. Dong successfully built the research and development organization in China and Japan, defined the development strategy and aligned both the local and global functions.

Before BMS, Dr. Dong was a Medical Director for early oncology development at AstraZeneca U.S. and Department Head of Oncology and Pharmacology at AstraZeneca Japan. Dr. Dong led the early oncology development in the U.S. and successfully completed the launch of IRESSA in Japan, the first country to market the drug globally.

Dr. Dong earned his M.D. from Jiangxi Medical School in China, and his Ph.D. from Kyushu University Medical School in Japan. Before he joined the pharmaceutical industry, he worked as a research fellow at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. James GE has a distinguished track record of successful global pharmaceutical drug development. Dr. GE is currently serving as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operations and Development Officer at MicuRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., a company dedicated to the global development of new anti-infectives. Prior to MicuRX, Dr. GE was the President and Chief Operations Officer at ALDEA Pharmaceuticals Inc., which focuses on the discovery and development of novel compounds in various therapeutic areas. Before ALDEA, Dr. GE was the Founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Kalidex, a biotech company which developed novel anti-infectives. Prior to founding Kalidex, Dr. GE was the Founder, Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Calixa Therapeutics Inc., where he chaired the Ceftolozane/Tazobactam clinical developing program, leading to the acquisition of Calixa by Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Dr. GE is also the Co-Founder of Cerexa, where he served as the Vice President of Drug Development. He also served as the Vice President for Development at Peninsula Pharmaceuticals. He led all the development efforts for both the Ceftaroline and Doripenem programs and was instrumental in the acquisition of Cerexa by Forest Laboratories Inc. and the acquisition of Peninsula by Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceuticals Inc. Prior to Peninsula, Dr. GE served as the Head of Anti-Infectives and Discovery Biology at GeneSoft Inc., and he also served the Head of Clinical Microbiology at Magainin Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Dr. GE received his Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology from West Virginia University and an M.S. and an M.D. from the Second Military Medical University of Shanghai, where he had clinical practices.

Dr. Jianquang XU has a distinguished career as a surgeon, senior hospital executive and public health administrator.

Currently, Dr. Xu is the President of the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute. Between August 2007 and February 2014, he was the Commissioner of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health. Dr. Xu also served as the administrator of the Shanghai Municipal Food and Drug Administration between 2008 and 2014. Between 1997 and 2007, he served as Vice President and President for Fudan University School of Medicine and Shanghai Huashan Hospital. Between 1985 and 1997, Dr. Xu held various positions at Shanghai Huashan Hospital, ultimately becoming the Chief Surgeon at the hospital.

Dr. Xu has made numerous important contributions in research in brachial plexus injury, post-traumatic hand reconstruction, and free tissue transplant. Being a distinguished hand surgeon, Dr. Xu is the Executive Council Member of the Chinese Medical Association's Hand Surgery Branch, China Hand Surgery Association, China Microsurgery Association, China Plastic Surgery Association's Reconstructive Surgery Branch and the Deputy Director of the Shanghai Hand Surgery Research Institute. In addition, Dr. Xu is also the senior executive editor for professional journals such as Chinese Surgery Journal, Chinese Journal of Hand Surgery and the Chinese Journal of Orthopedic Trauma. Dr. Xu has over thirty papers published in leading medical research journals and has received numerous grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Ministry of Health in China.

Dr. Xu received his M.D. from Shanghai Medical University. He also holds an EMBA from the China Europe International Business School and was also a guest professor in Public Health at Harvard Medical School.