Yong Xue | CMO, Asieris Pharmaceuticals

Yong Xue Yong XUE was born in Beijing. He read medicine in the School of Medicine, Beijing Medical University (Peking University), and graduated with his medical degree in 1989. His 4-year residency was in the Department of Urology, Beijing Friendship Hospital (teaching hospital of the Capital Medical University). He was a visiting scholar invited by the Slingland Hospital in Doetinhem, the Netherlands, and subsequently started his fellowship for academic research in the Department of Urology, Radboud University Medical Center (RadboudUMC), Nijmegen, the Netherlands, supervised by Prof. Frans Debruyne, and Prof. Jack Schalken in 1993. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1998 in cell biology, and continued his post-doc research before switched to biopharma industry in 2000.   

Yong has been working as pharmaceutical physician for over 20 years, with experience ranges clinical development and medical affairs, focusing on urology, metabolic, haematological and other genetic inherited rare diseases, gynaecology, endo-oncology, nephrology, etc. He has been involved in clinical development from early phase, pivotal/registration, and post-marketing studies for biologicals and small molecules in established markets (US, Europe and Japan) and major emerging markets, including China, India, Russia, Brazil. He worked as medical and clinical lead in clinical trials, new drug regulatory application including post-marketing commitment, drug label update, etc. for major markets world-wide. 

Yong’s industry highlights include global medical and clinical lead in clinical development for eliglustat/Cerdelga, a small molecule as an orally active glucocerebroside synthase inhibitor for the treatment of Gaucher Disease Type 1 (Sanofi), in clinical trials, regulatory applications, scientific publications, and product launch worldwide in 2014; global medical and clinical lead for full approval by the European Commission after 12 years of conditional approval for the Marketing Authorization of Aldurazyme (laronidase) – a biologic medical product as an enzyme replacement therapy of mucopolysaccharidosis Type 1 (MPS I) (Genzyme Corporation) in 2016; Sperogenix Therapeutics reached an agreement with Minoryx Therapeutics to in-license leriglitazone for x-ALD (x-linked adrenoleukodystrophy) in China in 2020; and Asieris Pharmaceuticals received FDA approval of IND application of oral APL-1202 in combination with tislelizumab (PD-1) as neoadjuvant therapy in patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) in 2021. 

With his Chinese background, Yong has profound knowledge of China society, culture and history, as well as insightful understanding of the pharma industry in China. Yong has hands-on experience as medical lead to conduct pre-registration clinical trials in China, supporting various clinical and regulatory activities, supervising clinical operation as well as CROs in China. As guest speaker, he has been invited to attend medical conferences organized by Chinese national and academic societies in the past years. Yong joint Sperogenix Therapeutics, a Shanghai-based start-up biotech company in 2019 as CMO, senior vice president (SVP) (www.sperogenix.com). 

His current role is CMO, Asieris Pharmaceuticals (www.asieris.com).