MANAGEMENT TEAM

Our management team is made up of a strong and diverse group whose specialties range from early-phase development to global clinical development. They possess deep scientific, clinical, regulatory, operational, and financial expertise in both the U.S. and China – which ideally positions us to accomplish our near- and long-term objectives.

Click on a team member below to learn more

Lan Huang

LAN HUANG, Ph.D.

Co-founder, Chairman
& Chief Executive Officer

Kenneth Lioyd

KENNETH LLOYD,
Ph.D.

Chief Scientific Officer

Yanbin Xie, M.D.

JAMES TONRA,
Ph.D.

Scientific Advisor

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Ramon Mohanlal, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Mohanlal has served on the Board of Directors of BeyondSpring, Inc. since February 2020.

Dr. Mohanlal has more than 20 years of global experience in strategic drug development at big pharma and biotech startups, including Glaxo Wellcome (GSK), Pharmacia (Pfizer), Vertex, Interleukin Genetics, Syntium, Novartis, and AstraZeneca. Dr. Mohanlal has served on the Board of Directors of BeyondSpring, Inc. since January 2020. He also serves as Executive Vice President of Research and Development and has served as Chief Medical Officer since October 2015. His expertise includes drug development in all Phases (preclinical and 1, 2, 3, 4, clinical, and post-marketing), regulatory filings, and maintaining drugs on the market.

Dr. Mohanlal played a crucial role in bringing five drugs to market and was deeply involved in the development of 15 marketed drugs, including Wellferon, atovaquone, lamivudine, Zomig, Advexin, Abilify IM Depot, Zometa, Femara, Aredia, Proleukin, Cardioxane, and Exjade. Most recently, Dr. Mohanlal was the Clinical Head of Established Oncology Products for Novartis, where he managed all clinical and regulatory maintenance work for the division, which represented total annual revenue of approximately $2 billion. He also developed immuno-oncology development programs based on checkpoint inhibitor combination therapy at AstraZeneca. Prior to this, Dr. Mohanlal held positions with with BioPremiere, Inc. as CEO and Chief Medical Officer and Interleukin Genetics as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Mohanlal has also obtained extensive licensing and deal-making experience at Syntium Inc.

Dr. Mohanlal earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in Experimental CV Pharmacology, both from the University of Leiden University in The Netherlands, and his M.B.A. from the American Intercontinental University in Illinois.

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Elizabeth Czerepak

Ms. Czerepak has over 30 years of experience in big pharma, biotechnology and venture capital. At Merck & Co., Hoffmann-La Roche and BASF Pharma she held leadership positions in finance and business development, including playing a key role in the Roche $5.4B acquisition of Syntex and the $6.9B sale of BASF to Abbott. Later, Ms. Czerepak was a Managing Director at JPMorgan and Bear Stearns, while serving as a General Partner of the BSHI venture fund. At BSHI, she led investments in thirteen biotech companies and served on six of the boards. She and her partners helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars for the portfolio and achieved most exits through IPO and acquisition. Most recently, Ms. Czerepak has served as CFO of four biotech companies, including two start-ups, Isarna Therapeutics and Genevant Sciences, and two which she took public, Cancer Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CGIX) and Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALT).

Ms. Czerepak currently serves on the Board of Directors of DelCath Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:DCTH) and Scilex Pharmaceuticals.

Ms. Czerepak holds an MBA from Rutgers University and a B.A. magna cum laude from Marshall University. She was a FINRA (previously NASD) Series 7 and Series 63 Registered Representative from 2001 to 2008. Ms. Czerepak recently earned a Corporate Director Certificate from Harvard Business School.

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Lan Huang, Ph.D.

Dr. Huang brings over 15 years of entrepreneurial experience in the Chinese and U.S. biotechnology industries. In 2010, Dr. Huang founded Wanchun Biotech, the former holding company of BeyondSpring’s U.S. subsidiary. In 2007, Dr. Huang co-founded Wuxi MTLH Biotechnology Co. Ltd., where she served as CEO in 2010 and continues to hold a directorship. The rights related to the development and marketing of the peptide drug in China, which drug Dr. Huang designed while at Wuxi MTLH Biotechnology Co. Ltd., were sold to Shanghai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in 2010. Additionally, in 2008, Dr. Huang co-founded Paramax International Inc., a CRO that conducts clinical trials for global biopharmaceutical and medical device companies. Paramax International Inc. was acquired by ReSearch Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. in 2009. Dr. Huang was trained at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center from 1998 to 2002, where her research in cancer signaling pathways involving p53 degradation was published in Science. Her translational research in cancer signaling pathways involving RAS was published in two Nature papers. She has invented and holds patents for a number of biotech products for oncology and dermatology indications.

Dr. Huang received her B.A., Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Lawrence University, where she served as a trustee from 2012 to 2015. She received her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley, where she won the international-level Women’s Opportunity Award given by Soroptimist International. She also studied at Fudan University in Shanghai, China.

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Christine Ying Zhao

Ms. Zhao has served on the Board of Directors of Seed Therapeutics, Inc. since August 2020.

Since 2016, Ms. Zhao has been a Managing Partner of YuanMing Capital, a VC/PE fund focused on cross-border investment and acquisition opportunities between the U.S. and China, particularly in the healthcare industry. Ms. Zhao has also served on the Board of Directors of BeyondSpring, Inc. since October 2016. Previously, Ms. Zhao served as the Group Chief Financial Officer of BEST Logistics Technology (China) Co., Ltd. Prior to this, Ms. Zhao served as a Managing Director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and as an Executive Director at JPMorgan, where she held senior positions, including regional CFO and COO, in global corporate and investment banking units. Ms. Zhao has worked for a number of corporations in various roles, including strategy and corporate venture investing at American Express in New York, London, and Singapore, investment banking at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong, and corporate development at FedEx Corporation in the U.S. She brings unique management experience to the board as she has managed teams across four continents. She currently serves as a board member of the Chinese Finance Association, a non-profit organization with over 6,000 members worldwide.

A Chartered Financial Analyst, or CFA, Ms. Zhao holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Economics with distinction from Fudan University in Shanghai, China.

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Kenneth Lloyd, Ph.D.

 Dr. Lloyd has more than 45 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with a focus on novel drug discovery and development, working in both large pharma (F. Hoffman LaRoche, Synthelabo and Wyeth Ayerst) and start-up biotechs (SIBIA, Nereus).

Previous positions include Vice-Director at Synthelabo (now Sanofi), Director of Research at Wyeth U.K. and Chief Scientific Officer at Nereus Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for the discovery, selection and development of Plinabulin. In addition to Plinabulin, Dr. Lloyd has led the development of marizomib (proteasome inhibitor for multiple myeloma), progabide and the discovery and early development of zolpidem.

Dr. Lloyd received his undergraduate education and M.S. in Biochemistry at McGill University and Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Toronto, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at F. Hoffmann LaRoche in Basel. He has more than 300 publications in journals that include Science, Nature and the New England Journal of Medicine.

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James Tonra, Ph.D.

 After earning a doctorate in Physiology and Biophysics, James R. Tonra, Ph.D. has worked for over 20 years in biotechnology, leading and utilizing in-house, contracted and sponsored research efforts to generate definitive data packages that enable the prioritization of research projects and guide clinical development at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, ImClone Systems/Eli Lilly, and Kadmon Holdings.

Dr. Tonra has collaborated with and lead multidisciplinary teams to develop biologic and small molecule drug candidates for disease indications including inflammation, oncology, diabetes, and CNS disorders. He has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications and is an inventor on numerous use-patents. At ImClone Systems, prior to the successful acquisition by Eli Lilly, Dr. Tonra’s efforts significantly contributed to the IND filing and clinical strategy development for 8 novel drugs, 3 of which are now approved therapies for cancer: Cyramza, Portrazza and Lartruvo.

Dr. Tonra received his Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics from SUNY at Stony Brook and B.S. in Physics, Summa Cum Laude, from SUNY at Stony Brook.

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Gordon Schooley, Ph.D.

 Dr. Schooley has 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with a focus on clinical and regulatory affairs, and he has been associated with product development and approvals of 19 marketed drugs in the U.S., Europe and Pacific Rim countries.

Previous positions include Director of Clinical Research at Allergan, V.P. of Clinical Research & Regulatory Affairs at Newport Pharmaceuticals International,V.P. of Clinical Research & Regulatory Affairs at Alliance Pharmaceutical Corp. and CSO and Senior V.P. of Clinical Development & Regulatory Affairs at Skye Pharma-Pacira Pharmaceuticals. He has participated in multiple product approvals in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe, including those for DepoCyte, 5-flurouracil, Solarize and Alprazolam. He also has experience in oncology, including hepatic carcinoma,neoplastic meningitis and glioblastoma.

Dr. Schooley received his undergraduate training and M.S. at Brigham Young University and Ph.D. in Biostatistics and Medical Care Organization &Administration at the University of Michigan, School of Public Health.

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Edward Dongheng Liu

Edward Dongheng Liu joins BeyondSpring with more than a decade of investment banking and investment experience in the Asia-Pacific region.

Prior to joining BeyondSpring, Mr. Liu was a Partner and Executive Director at Epiphron Capital, a cross-border, healthcare-focused investment fund that was an early investor in BeyondSpring. Prior to that, he held various leadership positions in the investment banking industry based in Hong Kong focusing on clients in the Asia-Pacific region. He was Senior Vice President and Vice President at Investment Banking and Capital Markets at Jefferies. Prior to Jefferies, he served as Vice President at Investment Banking Division at J.P. Morgan. As an investment banker, Mr. Liu has led financing and M&A transactions for clients across sectors with a total transaction value exceeding US$30 billion.

Mr. Liu received his bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from Yale University. He also completed biomedical engineering coursework at Tsinghua University.