Our mission is to transcend immuno-oncology therapies by developing cutting-edge designer biologics with novel modalities: Dr. Scott Liu of HanchorBio Inc.
“I envision that in five years, HanchorBio to be one of the leading biotech companies in immuno-oncology in the world through the development of safe and efficacious cutting-edge designer biologics with novel modalities.”
HanchorBio Inc. is a global biotechnology company pioneering the development of next-generation immunotherapies. Dr. Liu Scott founded the company in 2020 who currently serves as its chairman and CEO.
HanchorBio is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan.
The Silicon Review reached out to Dr. Liu, founder, chairman, and CEO of HanchorBio Inc., and here’s what he had to say.
Interview Highlights
How would you describe your professional journey so far? Tell us about a few roadblocks and learning lessons that helped you grow through the years.
I feel that I am very blessed throughout my career. There are quite a few challenges and roadblocks during my tenure at Shanghai Henlius, however, we were always able to overcome the challenges and reach key milestones. For example, for the series B financing for Henlius, the Board of Directors suddenly decided to double the pre-money valuation from approximately $650 million to 1.3 billion, and thus made the fundraising very difficult since many investors simply did not accept such a sudden and dramatic increase. It took me more than four months of consistent efforts and door-knocking to be finally able to secure a lead investor and close the series B with a total of $190 million raised. The lesson learned here is that CEO needs to have faith in the judgement of the BoD whose collective experience and wisdom is usually much evident than that of the CEO himself. Also, any seemingly difficult tasks and obstacles can be overcome with consistent, highly focused team effort; wherever there is a will, there is a way.
Another obstacle I have repeatedly encountered over my career is delays in regulatory approval of clinical trial applications or market authorization applications. In most cases, through continuous dialogues and discussions with the regulatory agencies, we were able to resolve the issues and obtain the final regulatory approvals. The lessons learned here is that persistency and grit will eventually prevail. With solid scientific data as a foundation, one can always overcome regulatory concerns. We simply need to have faith in regulatory agencies, especially in that their decision will eventually be science-driven and data-based.
Q. Trust is one of the most important currencies of leadership that requires authenticity and consistency to maintain. What’s your take on this?
Trust is a crucial element for successful leadership. Building trust requires time, as team members need to consistently witness alignment between your words and actions. An effective leader should establish a managerial philosophy and core values alongside a mission and vision. Wholeheartedly and passionately embracing these guiding principles, both verbally and through actions, is essential for building trust. Without such dedicated and continual commitment, it becomes challenging to foster trust within the team.
Q. As the CEO of the company, what are your major roles and responsibilities?
The Chief Executive Officer holds a pivotal position in the leadership and management of a company. My primary and most significant duty to HanchorBio is to formulate the vision, mission, and core values that will serve as the guiding principles for the organization. It is important for me to consistently advocate for the mission, vision, and core values, showcasing my fervor towards them and fostering a cohesive team that trusts their leader. Every decision I make will be rooted in these Core Values, aligning with the fulfilment of the company’s mission and vision.
In addition, I shoulder the responsibility of co-establishing strategic plans with the team to execute our mission in a timely and effective manner. Fundraising, financial oversight, and the management of stakeholder relationships also fall under my purview. These responsibilities hold immense significance as maintaining a consistent and ample flow of financial support is fundamental to the success of innovative drug development.
Another significant aspect of my role involves ensuring the successful recruitment of industry veterans for executive and senior scientist positions. I also need to make sure that sound HR systems and value-driven corporate culture are established so that teams at all levels work together seamlessly and cohesively towards our goals and objectives.
Q. What can you tell us about HanchorBio? What are its focus areas?
HanchorBio is a clinical-stage global biotech, focusing on the research and development of novel biologics in Immuno-Oncology. Our mission is to transcend immuno-oncology therapies by developing cutting-edge designer biologics with novel modalities. Our core technology platform, ‘Fc-based Design of Biologics (FBDB™)’, represents a unique design of biologics targeting multiple cancers or tumors. The biologics from the platform have the capability to simultaneously activate both the innate immune system and adaptive immune system to eliminate tumor growth. Through breakthroughs in multifunctional innovative molecular configurations during the research and development process, as well as the optimization of chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) during process development, HanchorBio aims to address unmet medical needs with its innovative biologics and core technology, the FBDBs™.
Currently, there are more than eight innovative projects (biologics)based on the FBDB™ platform in HanchorBio’s pipeline. Except for the first leading biologic in clinical trials at US and Taiwan hospitals, other first-in-class candidates are also planned to enter clinical stages soon.
Q. Can you introduce us to your FBDB™ platform? What are its key features?
The FBDB™ (Fc-Based Designer Biologics) platform, which primarily utilizes the antibody Fc region as a backbone and integrates various engineered anti-cancer molecules onto this Fc backbone. These anti-cancer molecules are developed and pioneered with the Ligand Trap technology, which involves protein engineering modifications of immune cell receptors to create engineered receptors that closely resemble their native counterparts. By fusing these engineered receptors with Fc backbone to configure a novel biologic, when administered to the patients, it can specifically target ligands in the tumor micro-environment and activate the immune systems. This enables and synergizes immune cells such as Macrophages and T cells to work together to recognize, engulf, and attack tumor cells, leading to the elimination of tumor cells.
Q. How do you see HanchorBio changing in five years, and how do you see yourself creating that change?
I envision that in five years, HanchorBio to be one of the leading biotech companies in immuno-oncology in the world through the development of safe and efficacious cutting-edge designer biologics with novel modalities. I also envision that through solid clinical trial data and FDA approval of our novel FBDB product, we will be able to bring renewed hope and optimism to millions of cancer patients worldwide. Through such an achievement, HanchorBio will hopefully become an admired company that transforms innovative drug development.
I will play a crucial role in achieving the five-year objectives; I will establish myself as a trustworthy leader who has strong leadership and an outstanding track record that attracts financial resources and top-notch talents. I will also lead the team to consistently deliver on our promises to the stakeholders and accomplish all the operational goals and key milestones in a timely fashion.
Scott Liu, Ph.D. | Founder, Chairman, & CEO
As a life-science entrepreneur and successful biotech company-builder, Scott Liu was one of the global partners of Fosun International Limited and a co-founder, president and CEO of Shanghai Henlius Biotech Inc., a commercial-stage global biopharmaceutical company with the focus on high-quality, affordable, and innovative biologic medicines, listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange (2696.HK) with a market value of over US$ 1.1 Billion. During his tenure with Henlius, Scott has led multiple product development initiatives (over 30 biosimilars, novel monoclonal antibodies and bispecific antibodies) and successfully launched five commercial monoclonal antibody products in China and Europe.
Scott has over 30 years of experience in managing corporate development, strategic portfolios, equity, cGMP quality operation, and CMC regulatory affairs. He has been instrumental in the development of the Technical Guidelines for the Research, Development and Evaluation of Biosimilars to promote globalization of the biopharmaceutical industry in China. Additionally, he has participated in development of multiple biological medicines, including Orencia® (for rheumatoid arthritis), Vectibix® (for colorectal cancer), Hanlikang® (rituximab biosimilar), Hanquyou®/Zercepac® (trastuzumab biosimilar), Handayuan® (adalimumab biosimilar), Hanbeitai® (bevacizumab biosimilar) and Hansizhuang® (serplulimab, novel anti-PD1).
Prior to founding HanchorBio and Henlius, Scott has previously served in several executive positions such as Vice President of Scientific Affairs at United Biomedical Inc., the Founding Director of the Biologics Quality Control Department at Bristol-Myers Squibb (Syracuse, USA), and the Director of Quality Analytical Laboratories at Amgen (Fremont, USA). Scott has authored or co-authored multiple scientific papers and has been invited as a speaker in conferences with topics ranging from Biologics Process Development, Biomanufacturing, Oncology Biologics and Immuno-Oncology.
Scott received his Ph.D. in biology at Purdue University and he completed his post-doctoral training at Stanford University.