Registration
Plenary Speakers
Keynote highlights
Robert Iannone, M.D., M.S.C.E.
EVP & Global Head of R&D, Jazz Pharmaceuticals
Litao Zhang, Ph.D.
Global Head, Discovery Technology & Molecular Pharmacology, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine
The 2025 SAPA-GP Annual Conference — “Evolving Landscape of Biopharma: Navigating from Discovery to Commercialization” — convened pharmaceutical scientists, executives, and investors for two days of plenaries, five parallel tracks, workshops, and networking at the Sheraton Valley Forge Hotel.
The program featured discussions on advancements in drug discovery, digital technologies and AI, and emerging business models — with insights into investment opportunities, M&A activities, and global partnerships.
Speakers and attendees included pharmaceutical scientists, academic leaders, clinical researchers, business leaders, biotech executives, and investors. Click any session below to expand its details.
Presenters: Yugang Jia; Zhiwei Yin; Si Chen; Ying Zhou; Lixia Yao; Farhat Siddiqui.
Research and Development at Jazz Pharmaceuticals — Robert Iannone, M.D., M.S.C.E., Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
Next-Gen Technology Innovation to Accelerate Drug Discovery — Litao Zhang, Ph.D., Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine.
Engineered CRISPR Systems for Diseases Treatment — Xue (Sherry) Gao, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania.
Universal Cancer Only Marker (UCOM), An Achievable Dream Needs UCOM — Wenqiang Yu, M.D., Ph.D., Fudan University.
Risk Factor Analysis and Risk Prediction by Machine Learning — Alex Qiu, M.D., Ph.D., Bristol Myers Squibb.
Organizing Global Regulatory Affairs and PV/Safety Functions for Success; Hot Topics in Regulatory Policy — Ercem Atillasoy, M.D., Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
Development of tRNA Therapeutics to Treat Stop Codon Disease: Getting Quantitative Medicine into Action — Sandra Visser, Ph.D., Alltrna.
Advancing Novel Bispecific Drug Development Through Quantitative Medicine in Oncology — Suzette Girgis, Ph.D., M.S., Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
Generative AI Applications in Precision Health — Yugang Jia, Ph.D., Verily Life Science / MIT.
Applications of Siamese Networks for Biomedical Text Processing — Eric Yang, Ph.D., Medidata Solutions.
Unleashing the Power of Data Science in Pharmaceutical Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence — Antong Chen, Ph.D., Merck & Co., Inc.
Panelists: Marc Appel, JD, M.B.A. (Pacific Bridge NY); Weiyong Sun, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A. (Hansoh Pharma); Lihua Zheng, JD, Ph.D. (Z-Star Therapeutics Inc.).
From Failure to Success — Experience of Managing a Biotech Start-up in the US and China — Dan Zhang, M.D., MPH, Hillgene Biopharma Ltd.
Entrepreneurship in Medical Device — Lily Li, M.S., MinaRosa Technologies.
Are You Ready to Start a Business? — Xiaobin Huang, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania.
TurboCHO: Robust Platform for Bispecific and Multispecific Modalities — Host: Zhiyi Cui, Ph.D. (GSK), Room Haverford; Presenter: YC Low, Ph.D. (GenScript).
The Future of NewCo and How You Can Get Involved — Host: Hui Wang, Ph.D. (Genevoyager), Room Malvern; Presenter: Jimmy Zhou, M.B.A. (HighLight Capital).
The Science of Exosomes: Unlocking Cellular Communication — The Next Frontier in Skin Rejuvenation and Hair Boosting — Host: Jingwen Niu, Ph.D. (AlphaThera), Room Frazer; Presenter: Laura Hong, M.D., Ph.D. (AlaR7).
Advancing Technology through Flow Chemistry at Apeloa — Host: Xinjun Zhang, Ph.D. (Merck), Room Paoli; Presenter: Matthew England, M.B.A. (Apeloa Pharmaceutical).
Accelerating the Development of ADCs from Concept to BLA — Jimmy Li, Ph.D., WuXi XDC.
The Use of Computational and Machine Learning/AI Methods in the Development of Therapeutics for Oncology — Dowdy Jackson, Ph.D., Jackson Consulting Group.
OBI ADC Technology and Pipeline — Xiao Meng, Ph.D., OBI Pharma.
Implementing ML-driven Inclusion Criteria to Enrich Clinical Trials with Patients Exhibiting Canonical Symptom Structures — Sam Tomioka, M.S., Sumitomo Pharma America.
Capturing the Patient Voice through the Development of Novel Endpoints in Precision Trials — Katherine Bevans, Ph.D., Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine.
Project Optimus, Early Development Incorporation — Hong Xie, M.D., M.B.A., M.S., former BeiGene and Johnson & Johnson.
Debiased Causal Transformer for Drug Discovery using Real-world Data — Yong Chen, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania.
Analyzing the Large and Complex Autism Cohort Data using the Genotypes and Phenotype in Families (GPF) Platform — Ivan Iossifov, Ph.D., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Optimizing Physician Selection: AI and Machine Learning Applications in Clinical Trials and Marketing — Yunlong Wang, Ph.D., IQVIA.
Panelists: Shirley Liu, Ph.D. (GV20 Therapeutics); Richie Lou (McKinsey & Company); Yuenian Eric Shi, M.D., Ph.D. (Chimigen Bio); Haichen Yang, M.D., M.B.A., M.A. (Amicus Therapeutics); Derek Yuan, Ph.D. (LYFE Capital).
Cross Culture Communication — Patricia Tsao, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., CytoEX Inc.
Conflict Resolution — Helen Sun, M.A., SPHR, Zambon Group.
Interview Tactics — Evelyn Guo; Laura Hong; Helen Sun; Patricia Tsao.
Targeted Protein Degradation in Oncology and Beyond — Shuichan Xu, Ph.D., Bristol Myers Squibb.
A Systems Biology Approach to Model CHO Cell Culture and Predict Outcomes — Bo Zhai, Ph.D., Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine.
Proactive Mitigations for Prefilled Syringe Needle Clogging through Development, Validation and Manufacturing — Qihang (Echo) Sun, Ph.D., Merck & Co., Inc.
Addressing PK Assay Questions for Clinical Pharmacologists: Challenges and Solutions in Biologics Bioanalysis — Huaping Tang, Ph.D., GlaxoSmithKline plc.
Bioanalytical Strategies for Characterizing Glucagon-like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) Based Therapeutics — Wenying Jian, Ph.D., Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine.
Bioanalytic Strategy for ADC — Murali Matta, Ph.D., Merck & Co., Inc.
Harnessing AI and Informatics for Precision Medicine in Dementia — Li Shen, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania.
Unleashing the Potential of Unlabeled Digital Pathology Data — Lin Li, Ph.D., Merck & Co., Inc.
Uses of CausalAI for the Optimization of Clinical Trials — Aaron Mackey, Ph.D., Lokavant.
Panelists: Rui Che (KPMG); Joshua A. Kaufman, JD, M.B.A. (DLA Piper LLP US); Stephen Manobianco, M.B.A. (PSG Life Sciences); Vikram Patra, M.B.A. (Freedom Capital Market); Colin Wang, Ph.D. (6 Dimensions Capital); Enna Weng, M.B.A. (Freedom Capital Market).
The 2025 Annual Conference was made possible by the generous support of our sponsors and partners.
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