PITCHDAY

Dr. Rudi Pauwels is a Belgian pharmaceutical scientist, virologist, biotech entrepreneur and Baron of Belgium whose career has moved repeatedly from scientific insight to global health impact. Trained as a pharmacist and awarded a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences with greatest distinction from KU Leuven, he was among the early researchers working on HIV at the Rega Institute in Leuven.

His early work helped create laboratory screening models that enabled the discovery of new classes of antiretroviral medicines, including phosphonate nucleotide analogues such as PMEA, from which tenofovir-based therapies would later emerge, and the first non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. These discoveries became part of the scientific foundation for modern HIV treatment and prevention.

In 1994, Dr. Pauwels founded Tibotec, later acquired by Johnson & Johnson, where the pipeline produced several important HIV drugs, including darunavir, etravirine and rilpivirine. He also co-founded Virco, one of the earliest companies to bring personalized medicine into HIV care through resistance-guided therapy. Together, these innovations helped transform HIV from a rapidly fatal infection into a chronic, treatable condition for millions of people, while generating major medical and economic value across the global pharmaceutical sector.

After Tibotec-Virco, Dr. Pauwels founded Biocartis at EPFL in Lausanne, developing the Idylla molecular diagnostics platform: a fully automated sample-to-result, multiplex qPCR system designed to bring actionable molecular testing closer to patients. His later work expanded into epidemic preparedness through Praesens Foundation and Praesens Care, including mobile diagnostic laboratories for outbreak response.

Today, Dr. Pauwels is extending the same systems view of biology into prevention and healthy ageing. Through Helion Biosystems, based between Switzerland and Southern Spain, he is building a platform that combines controlled-environment agriculture, ISO-6 cleanroom production, freeze-drying, nutritional science and longevity research. The aim is to create precise, sustainable, bioactive nutrition that supports human resilience before disease begins.

Across pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, epidemic response and precision nutrition, Dr. Pauwels' work reflects one central conviction: biology is an interconnected system, and the future of health will depend on treating, detecting and preventing disease with equal scientific rigor.

Dr. Yiu-Lian Fong is a veteran biotech and pharmaceutical executive and scientist with nearly 30 years of experience driving precision medicine initiatives at Novartis, Abbott, and Johnson & Johnson. She currently serves as a Senior Strategic and Scientific Adviser to MiRXES and as a Board Member/Adviser at Senhwa Biosciences. As the founder of DxRxPM Biotech Consulting, Dr. Fong leverages decades of therapeutic and medical device development leadership to guide biotechnology and diagnostic companies through the full product lifecycle, from developing early-stage target product profiles (TPP), business and partnership strategies, through the complex realities of regulatory pathways, clinical validation, reimbursement, and successful global commercialization.

Hiroki Narita is a distinguished venture capital professional currently serving as the President & CEO of DCI Partners Co., Ltd., that specializes in cross-border venture investments, with a primary focus on the life sciences sector.

A pivotal figure in forging financial and strategic corridors between Japan and Taiwan, Narita has played a central role in establishing bilateral investment platforms, including landmark strategic collaborations with the National Development Fund (NDF) of Taiwan. Under his leadership, DCI Partners has grown to manage the largest life science funds in Japan, serving as a critical catalyst in providing vital risk capital to high-potential startups.

Throughout a distinguished career, Narita has been deeply committed to shaping corporate governance and driving strategic development across the healthcare and biotechnology sectors. Leveraging this deep industry expertise, he currently serves as an outside director for both Surv Biopharma and C4U.

Michael Huang is Managing Partner, Life Science Investment of Taiwania Capital Management Corp., where he leads life science and healthcare investment strategy across the United States, Taiwan, Japan, and Europe. He has more than 20 years of experience investing in and managing biotech and medtech companies, with a track record spanning early- to late-stage opportunities, portfolio governance, licensing, technology transfer, and exit planning.

Before joining Taiwania in 2018, he co-founded and served as CEO of NeuroVive Pharmaceutical Asia, a drug development company focused on mitochondria-related diseases, and completed licensing transactions with Sihuan Pharmaceutical and Sanofi Korea. Earlier, he worked with CX Venture Capital Group, XCi Ventures, and TWi Pharmaceuticals. Michael holds an MBA from Rice University's Jesse H. Jones School of Management and an M.S. in Chemistry with honor from the University of Texas at Arlington.

黃立鑫現任台杉投資管理顧問股份有限公司生技基金執行合夥人，主要負責生命科學與醫療健康等投資，主導美國、台灣、日本及歐洲等地生技投資案。其具二十年以上生技投資、投後管理及新創公司經營經驗，曾共同創立亞洲區新藥開發公司並擔任執行長，完成與北京四環藥業及韓國賽諾菲之授權交易。也擁有過多項上市、併購與國際合作等案例經驗，專長涵蓋投資評估、公司治理、授權談判與技術移轉。

Dr. Yen-Po Harvey Chin, MD, PhD is Head of Global Strategy at PharmaEssentia USA, where he is responsible for the company's overall corporate strategy and investment functions. PharmaEssentia (TWSE: 6446) is a Taiwan-founded biopharmaceutical company with full in-house capabilities spanning R&D, clinical development, and commercialization in the US market. Operating across this full arc gives Dr. Chin a whole-value-chain perspective on drug development and commercialization, from which he helps bring Asian scientific innovation to international markets.

Previously, Dr. Chin was Executive Chairman of AGMI Group, a management consulting firm serving life science companies on M&A, portfolio, and commercial strategy. Before that, he was a consultant at McKinsey & Company's Boston office, advising biopharmaceutical, medical device, and private equity clients.

Dr. Chin holds an MD from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, a Master's in Biomedical Informatics from Harvard Medical School, and a PhD in Biomedical Informatics from Taipei Medical University. He was a member of the inaugural cohort of Harvard University's Healthtech Innovation Fellowship, the first Taiwanese physician selected to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list, and co-author of From Bench to Market: A Biotech Valuation and Forecasting Playbook.

Prof. Li earned a bachelor's degree in Microbiology in Taiwan and received a US fellowship in 1994 for Ph.D. study in Molecular and Biochemical Pharmacology. He has established his research group since 2003 in "DNA topoisomerases and chromatin biology" in National Taiwan University College of Medicine and further extended his leadership in 2025 as the President of Development Center for Biotechnology (DCB), devoting himself to developments of new drug modalities as well as market-driven biotechnologies innovations and platforms. Moreover, his work has also contributed to key manufacturing and regulatory approvals, such as "Regenerative Medicine Act" and "Regenerative Medicinal Products Act". Additionally, Prof. Li with his DCB teams have focused on AI-enabled green chemistry using optimized bio-catalysis and biomanufacturing, subsequently aiming to transform the healthcare industry from Taiwan to global.

現任財團法人生物技術開發中心（DCB）執行長，同時兼任研發副執行長與台大醫學院教授。在生技產業轉譯擁有深厚資歷，主導藥物研發戰略與新模態藥物布局，並以前瞻平台促進產、學、研、醫的深度協作與技術商業化。其學術專長領域包括核酸調控、拓樸異構酶及臨床分子藥理，致力於以科學創新為台灣生技產業創造全球競爭優勢。

Matthew Porteus MD, PhD is the Sutardja Chuk Professor of Definitive and Curative Medicine and a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and Maternal-Child Health Research Institute at Stanford. He is clinically trained in pediatric bone marrow transplantation. He is the Director of the Stanford Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine and the co-Executive Director of the Stanford Cell and Gene Therapy GMP Facility called the Laboratory for Cell and Gene Medicine. He will serve as President of ASGCT from 2026-2027. His primary research focus is on developing genome editing as an approach to cure disease, particularly those of the blood (most notably sickle cell disease) but also of other organ systems as well. He was a scientific founder of CRISPR Tx and founder of Kamau Tx and serves on the Board of Directors of Arbor Bio and the scientific advisory boards of Biogen, Allogene, and Dispatch. He is a strong advocate for assuring that the next generation of transformative medicines reaches the global community in partnership with those communities.

Alice L. Yu, M.D., Ph.D. is an Academician of Academia Sinica in Taiwan, currently a Distinguished Chair Professor at the Institute of Stem Cell & Translational Cancer Research in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital & Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at the University of California in San Diego where she served as the Chief of Pediatric Hematology Oncology. She obtained MD from National Taiwan University, PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from University of Chicago. Dr. Yu is a pioneer in developing anti-GD2 mAb (Dinutuximab), culminating in its FDA approval for the treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma in 2015, marking the first immunotherapeutic agent targeting a glycolipid antigen. Treatment with anti-GD2 has since become standard of care for high risk neuroblastoma. She received Pediatric Oncology Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in 2020 and Lifetime Achievement Award from the Advances in Neuroblastoma Research Association in 2025.

Yun Yen, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.S.C.O., is a world-renowned oncologist, cancer researcher, and subject matter expert in ribonucleotide reductase (RR), whose pioneering studies elucidated the enzyme's role in DNA synthesis and repair. Over his distinguished academic career, he has published more than 400 articles in high-impact peer-reviewed journals and holds over 60 patents.
Dr. Yen serves as President Emeritus of Taipei Medical University (TMU), where he previously served as President from 2011 to 2017, and is currently a Chair Professor. His extensive institutional background includes 22 years at City of Hope’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, serving as Associate Director and Chair of Molecular Pharmacology. Additionally, he holds appointments at Academia Sinica, California Institute of Technology, and Case Western Reserve University. Currently, he serves as President of the Taiwan Biomedical Innovation Association (TiBIA).

Kotaro Funato is a Managing Director and Executive Officer at PwC Japan, with a focus on healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and life sciences. Prior to joining PwC, he worked at a major consulting firm and held positions at several multinational pharmaceutical companies.

Ryan Potts obtained his Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from UT Southwestern in 2007. In 2008 he was awarded the Sara and Frank McKnight junior faculty position at UT Southwestern Medical Center and appointed as Assistant Professor in the Departments of Physiology, Pharmacology, and Biochemistry in 2011. In 2016 his lab moved to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital where he was an Associate Member in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology. In 2020, he moved to Amgen as Executive Director of Research and Head of the Induced Proximity Platform that is focused on empowering multi-specific, induced proximity therapeutic modalities through bold, creative science to expand the druggable genome and reimaging the future of drug discovery. In 2021, he took over leadership of Amgen's Postdoctoral Fellows Program aimed at training the next generation of industry scientists. In recognition to his important contributions at Amgen, he was promoted to Vice President in 2023 with an expanded role to oversee multiple technology focused platforms with the Research Technologies department. In 2025, his role expanded to oversee a new Research function, DATA (Discovery Science, Advanced Technologies, and AI).

Dr. Michael Huang is a prominent leader in Taiwan's biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors. He currently serves as the Director of the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries Promotion Office (BPIPO) and Vice President of the Development Center for Biotechnology (DCB), driving industry growth and global collaborations.

With extensive experience in pharmaceutical R&D and commercialization, Dr. Huang has held key leadership positions, including Head of the Institute of Drug Evaluation at DCB and international roles such as Group Leader-Principal Research Scientist at Pfizer and Wyeth Research in the U.S.

In academia, he was an Assistant Professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Dr. Huang earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and holds Master's and Bachelor's degrees from National Taiwan University. He regularly mentors early-stage biotech ventures, helping them bridge innovation with global investment, and he continues to lead strategic initiatives that advance Taiwan's innovative biotechnology ecosystem.

黃千岳博士為台灣生技醫藥產業的指標性專家，現任經濟部生技醫藥產業發展推動小組（BPIPO）主任及財團法人生物技術開發中心（DCB）副執行長，長期致力於推動產業升級與深化全球合作。

黃博士在藥物研發與技術商品化領域深耕多年，曾任生技中心平台所所長，並曾跨足海外，於美國輝瑞（Pfizer）與惠氏（Wyeth）藥廠擔任集團主管暨首席研究科學家。

在學術界，他曾任教於美國紐澤西理工學院。黃博士大學與碩士畢業於國立台灣大學化工系，並取得美國麻州大學阿默斯特分校化工博士學位。他近年積極輔導生醫新創生態系，引導跨域資源整合，協助新創團隊對接國際資本與商業市場，也持續透過前瞻性的策略布局，戮力提升台灣創新醫療生態系的整體競爭力。

Chen-En Cheng, D.V.M., M.Sc., DABT, ERT, UKRT is the Associate Researcher at the National Institutes of Applied Research, National Center for Biomodels, Taiwan. Dr. Cheng received his master's degree in veterinary medicine from the National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. He has over 20 years of experience in preclinical safety assessment and toxicology, with leadership responsibilities in strategic new drug development planning, cross-functional resource integration, and R&D management. He is currently a member of AAALAC International Council of Accreditation.