A Bold Initiative To Support Biotechnology – China’s 12th 5 Year Plan

George Baeder - Mr. Baeder is a Partner and Vice President of Monitor Group Asia. He is also head of Monitor's Life Science practice in Asia. During his three decades living in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, Mr Baeder has focused on the region's emerging markets. He has spent his entire professional career in Asia, assisting major international firms to establish and expand their Asian businesses profitably and to meet the global competitive challenges originating in the region, covering ethical pharmaceuticals, OTC and medical devices. After studying economics and Chinese history in the US and Taiwan, he joined Business International Corp, a New York-based business advisory firm in 1973. In 1976 he moved to Hong Kong to build the company's Asian operations. After selling Business International in 1986, Mr Baeder founded the Pacific Rim Consulting Group, a strategy boutique, which he sold to AT Kearney in 1997.

Richard joined Amgen in 2003 as the general manager of Central and Eastern Europe.  In this position, he was responsible for commercial and R&D across the region and led the establishment of R&D operations in eight countries.  Three years later, Richard was promoted to run the company’s Australian operations where he successfully built market share for key products, transformed declining sales into sustained growth and represented the industry during Senate reform hearings.  From 2008, Richard was the vice president of sales for Amgen’s $3.3billion US immunology business. 

Immediately prior to his current role, Richard was vice president for Latin America, and led the acquisition and integration of Bergamo, a privately-held Brazilian pharmaceutical company specializing in hospital, oncology and generic products, as well as a deal with Mantecorp (a subsidiary of Hypermarcas) to regain the rights to key Amgen products in Brazil.

Richard has a BSc in applied chemistry from Portsmouth University and an MBA from Warwick Business School. 

Samantha Du - Dr. Du founded Hutchison MediPharma in 2002 and positioned the company for innovative drug discovery and development.  Under her leadership, HMP has established itself as a world class flagship biotechnology company in China, with more than 100 patents & patent applications worldwide, and a rich first-in-class and best-in-class potential pipeline, with its leading product entering global phase III trials.  HMP has achieved many precedent-setting milestones in China, and pioneered China’s drug development Green Channel.  HMP has also established multiple collaborations with multinational pharmaceutical companies with a “risk-sharing” strategy, and this unique business model has now been widely adopted by many other China-based pharmaceutical companies and research organizations.

Since returning to China, Dr. Du has worked closely with numerous government agencies, policy makers, and other stake holders to pave the way for drug innovation in China.  She also serves on numerous committees to help create and promote a better environment that nourishes innovative drug discovery and development in China, and a healthier ecosystem for the advancement of the overall industry.  In recent years, Samantha has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the 2010 Shanghai Magnolia Award from the Shanghai Municipality.

Kewen Jin, PhD - Kewen Jin is currently General Manager of Charles River Laboratories (CRL) China preclinical service company. He was founder/CEO of BioExplorer, a preclinical CRO which formed a JV with CRL in 2007. Kewen has co-founded and served as key executive (CEO, CBO, and founding partner) for three other companies in the R&D outsourcing, drug discovery, and consulting. He served as advisor to several MNC pharma and healthcare companies, major consulting and investment firms. Previously, he was a marketing and international operation executive with Wyeth, first five years in the U.S. , then two years in Beijing. He is a Senior Advisor to Shanghai Pudong Government. He was granted the 2005 Magnolia Award, which the Shanghai government grants to individuals making major contribution to the development of Shanghai. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Bayhelix and Sino American Pharmaceutical Association (SAPA), two leading Chinese life science professional organizations. He was trained in medicine (Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine), biology (Rockefeller), finance (Columbia). 

Song Ruilin - Ever since the establishment of the Bureau of the Legislative Affairs under the State Council in April 1986, Mr. Song has been engaged in legislative review and research on public health and medicine. He is now an expert in legislation on public health and medicine, given his participation in almost all the legislative activities in public health in China since 1986.

Mr. Song was awarded the “Anti-SARS Medal” by Beijing municipal government in 2003. He played an important role in the organising of the drafting panel for Law on Prevention and Cure of Infectious Diseases approved by the State Council to be co-organised by the Council’s Legislative Affairs Office and the Ministry of Public Health in June of the same year. Now the Law on Prevention and Cure of Infectious Diseases has been enacted and implemented. In 2004, following the decision by the State Council to amend the Law on Food Hygiene, Mr. Song took the lead in the drafting panel.

Mr. Song is currently member of the National Committee on the Assessment of the Protected Traditional Chinese Medical Products, council member of China Pharmaceutical Association and Chinese Health Law Academy, and standing council member of China’s International Travelling Health Association and (Macao) International Association of Chinese Medicine.