Guo-Liang Yu
PhD
Co-Founder, Executive Director, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Co-Founder, Executive Director, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Guo Liang Yu is a co-founder, Executive Director, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Apollomics. Dr. Yu has been one of the key management members of the Company and has been actively involved in its business, strategy and operational management since its establishment. He has over 31 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and academic research. He is a serial entrepreneur and has co-founded over ten startup companies in biotech and the healthcare sectors, including Immune-Onc Therapeutics, Inc. in Palo Alto, United States. During his co-founding of our Group, Dr. Yu was the executive chairman of Crown Bioscience International and he was also a venture partner with OrbiMed Asia Limited.
Dr. Yu obtained his Ph.D. degree in molecular biology from the University of California, Berkeley in the U.S. He has served important roles in numerous social organizations, including the founding president of the Chinese Biopharmaceutical Association USA. Inc. and as a board member of Ray Wu Memorial Fund. Dr. Yu is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the following companies: Immune-Onc Therapeutics, Inc., Zhejiang Innoforce Pharmaceuticals Co., and Inmagene Biopharmaceuticals.
Co-Founder, Executive Director and President
Dr. Sanjeev Redkar is a co-founder, Executive Director and President of Apollomics. Dr. Redkar is mainly responsible for establishing and overseeing the overall strategic planning, business development and management of the Company. He has over 26 years of scientific, managerial and executive experience in hematology and oncology drug discovery and development, especially for small-molecule drugs. Dr. Redkar previously served as a senior vice president for product development at Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTX) and worked as the manager of process development and manufacturing, senior director of pharmaceutical development, vice president in charge of manufacturing and preclinical development successively at SuperGen, Inc. before its acquisition of Astex Therapeutics Limited.
Dr. Redkar received his Bachelor of Technology degree in chemical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology in India, and he holds a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering and a Ph.D. degree in chemical engineering from University of Colorado, Boulder in the United States. He also obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from St. Mary’s College of California in the United States. Dr. Redkar has authored and co-authored over 25 peer-reviewed scientific articles and co-invented 26 patents that have been issued in the United States. Dr. Redkar serves as Adjunct Faculty and as an Industrial Advisory Board Member at the T.J. Long School of Pharmacy of the University of Pacific. He also serves as a Board Member, Faculty, and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Jie Du Center for Entrepreneurship.
Chief Financial Officer
Dr. Plunkett brings to Apollomics over 25 years of diverse strategic and financial experience within the biopharmaceutical sector, most recently as Chief Financial Officer at Aeovian Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Aeovian, he was Chief Financial Officer at Imago Biosciences (acquired by Merck), where he led the efforts for the company’s $155 million Nasdaq initial public offering (IPO). He was previously Chief Financial Officer at Nkarta Therapeutics, where he led the efforts for its $290 million Nasdaq IPO. He has held positions including Chief Business Officer at CTI BioPharma (acquired by SOBI), a commercial stage hematology-oncology biopharmaceutical company, where he led a variety of financing and corporate development transactions. Earlier in his career, Dr. Plunkett held a variety of positions at CIBC World Markets and its U.S. successor Oppenheimer & Co., including Managing Director, Head of West Coast Biotechnology. Dr. Plunkett received his B.S. in chemistry from Harvey Mudd College and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Kin-Hung Peony Yu joined Apollomics in 2021 as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Peony Yu will be providing leadership to R&D and be primarily responsible for clinical development of the Company’s products. She has over 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical leadership, patient care and drug development, with expertise in clinical regulatory strategy and execution of clinical programs of innovative biopharmaceuticals.
Previously, Dr. Yu worked for FibroGen, Inc. (NASDAQ: FGEN) as a vice president until her designation as CMO. She also served as the vice president and head of clinical research at Anesiva, Inc., formerly known as Corgentech, Inc., (NASDAQ: ANSV); a director of clinical development at ALZA Corporation, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), and held roles of increasing responsibility in clinical development at Pain Therapeutics, Inc. (now known as Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVA)) and at Elan Corporation plc (now known as Perrigo Company plc (NYSE: PRGO)). She obtained an M.D. degree from the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, in the United States. She completed her residency training at Stanford University School of Medicine in the U.S. Dr. Peony Yu has authored or co-authored 12 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Peony Yu holds a medical license registered in California.
Dr. Peony Yu is an independent nonexecutive director at STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA).
Senior Vice President of Biostatistics and Data Management
Dr. Chinglin Lai joined Apollomics in 2021 as the Senior Vice President of Biometrics. Dr. Lai has over 27 years of experience in drug development across a broad range of therapeutic areas. His experience is primarily in first-in-human studies through late-stage development for marketing approvals. Prior to Apollomics, Dr. Lai was a consultant providing statistical expertise to over 20 emerging and established pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the US and Asia. Previously, Dr. Lai held leadership positions at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, overseeing biostatistics, statistical programming, and data management functions for all portfolio products. Prior to Jazz, he worked at Intrabiotics Pharmaceuticals (2004-2005) and was a member of the core team for evaluating in-licensing opportunities, and Alza Corporation, where he contributed to the marketing approvals of 5 products in the US and EU. Dr. Lai received his B.S. in Mathematics from National Central University in Taiwan, and Ph.D. in Applied Statistics from the University of California, Riverside, with a concentration in experimental design.