Swiss Chinese Life Science Forum (EN)

Our Speakers

Michael van der Laan is a Dutch Physician and the Head of Clinical Development at Hengrui Europe Therapeutics. Working in the pharmaceutical industry since 1999. His expertise is in conducting cardiovascular clinical studies and managing development and operational departments in an international setting. Michael has worked in the UK for 8 year prior to coming to Basel in 2008. He speaks Dutch, English and basic German.

Dr. Han Dai is currently Chief Business Officer and Head of Investment of Viva Biotech. Previously, Han held multiple roles with increasing responsibilities in global Pharma/Biotech, including 10+ years at GlaxoSmithKline as Scientific Leader and GSK Fellow of Protein Degradation DPU. At GSK, he successfully led or co-led the discovery, preclinical development, translational research and biomarker studies across many therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, metabolic and neurological diseases. Han received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics from UT Southwestern Medical Center as Frank and Sara McKnight fellow, and his B.S. in Biochemistry from Department for Intensive Instruction, Nanjing University. Han completed his postdoctoral training in Harvard Medical School and HHMI as Helen Hay Whitney fellow. He has published more than 50 papers, book chapter, abstracts and patents in reputable journals and conferences. Han served as Scientific Advisory Board member of the Chemical Probes Portal, Full Faculty Member of Faculty Opinions, President of Sino-American Pharmaceutical Professional Association – Greater Philadelphia (SAPA-GP) and visiting professor at High Magnetic Field Laboratory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CHMFL).

Lukas Zuest is a Swiss lawyer at the law firm VISCHER and head of the VISCHER China Desk. Since 2007, he has advised Swiss and Chinese companies with their cross-border direct investments, M&A and trade transactions. He has particular expertise with Chinese VC investments into Swiss life science companies, and Chinese life science companies establishing new businesses in Switzerland. Lukas lived and worked for over five years in Shanghai. He speaks German, English and Chinese. Lukas is a member of the board of directors of the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

Xiao Fu is the Head of Digital Transformation at Novartis Pharma China. Prior to Novartis, she worked in BP China as Head of Digital Innovation & BD. She has 10+ years digital transformation experience in Europe and China across various industries, specialized on digital innovation, business transformation, e-Commerce, advanced analytics and integrating those aspects into driving business growth. Xiao holds a Master degree major in International Management from HANKEN School of Economics Finland.

Robert Scott is Head of Product & Portfolio Network at the Novartis Biome. The Novartis Biome unites the best of science and technology together with ecosystem partners to create impactful healthcare solutions and patient experiences, at scale. Previous to Novartis, Rob led Digital, Innovation & Experience Strategy for a number of Life Science clients at Accenture, and led Digital Transformation and Innovation programs at Takeda and Syngenta. Previous to Life Sciences, Rob worked in Technology and Media.

Christian Hein is Global Head of Digital Transformation and Innovation Execution at Novartis. In his time at Novartis, Christian has been leading the initiation, signing, and scaling of Novartis’ strategic partnership with Tencent, a leading technology player in China, along with other major digital transformation initiatives, particularly in the commercial space. Prior to Novartis, Christian has held leading roles in several biopharma companies, including most recently being the creator and head of a Digital Innovation Lab for Amgen. Christian holds an advanced degree in Biotechnology and a Masters in Strategic Management from HEC Paris.

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