CHO PHARMA INC. 醣基

Company Overview

CHO PHARMA (TWSE: 6586) is a Taiwan-based biotechnology company founded in 2013 by a team of distinguished glycoscience leaders. Rooted in glycoscience, we are committed to translating the cutting-edge science into best-in-class medicines for people suffering from limited or inadequate treatment options.

Our pioneering work has delivered CHO-H01, the world’s first glycoengineered biobetter with homogeneous glycosylation, through our state-of-the-art glycoengineering platform technology, CHOptimax™.

We are advancing the application of CHOptimax™ in drug development, including SAR-based glycoengineered biobetters, glycosite-specific antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), and new classes of vaccines. To creatively bring more promising medicines for more patients in need, we welcome any type of collaboration.

Management Team

Chao-Long Chen, MD, PhD (Hon.)

Chairman

Dr. Chao-Long Chen is a trailblazer for liver transplantation in Taiwan and Asia. He performed the first successful liver transplant surgery in Asia in 1984 and advocated brain death as the legal definition of death, which was instrumental to the enactment of Taiwan's Human Organ Transplantation Law in 1987. Over the course of his career, he set many liver transplantation records in Taiwan, Asia, and the world, including the first split liver transplantation in Asia in 1997, the first living donor liver transplantation without blood transfusion in the world in 1997, and the first routine micro-biliary reconstruction surgery in the world in 2006. As of 2023, Dr. Chen has accomplished more than 2200 liver transplantations and continues to be one of the surgeons with the highest survival rate of living donor liver transplantations in the world.

For his extraordinary achievements, Dr. Chen has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Taiwan “National Award for Outstanding Contribution in Science and Technology” in 1995, Taiwan “Medical Contribution Award-Special Medical Contribution Award” in 2015, the first “International Medical Role Model Prize” in 2016, “Transplantation Society of Taiwan Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2016, etc. In addition, Dr. Chen served as the President of International Living Donor Liver Transplantation Group (iLDLT) from 2020 to 2021 and was elected as a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a member of Advisory Board of Center for Asia Pacific Policy of USA-based RAND Corporation, and an honorary member of International College of Surgeons.

Dr. Chen has extensive management experience in the hospital and healthcare industry. He was the Superintendent of the Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital from 2003 to 2015 and has been Superintendent Emeritus since 2015. He also serves on the Board of several companies spanning biotech and other industries.

Chung-Yi Wu, PhD

President, CEO

Dr. Chung-Yi Wu joined CHO PHARMA as Executive Vice President in 2019, bringing over 20 years of research and development experience to strengthen the scientific foundation and elevate competitiveness of CHO PHARMA. In 2022, Dr. Wu was promoted to President, CEO and elected as a member of the Board of Directors.

Prior to CHO PHARMA, Dr. Wu served as Research Professor at the Genomic Research Center, Academia Sinica. During his tenure, he published 100+ scientific papers and was granted more than 40 patents. His impressive achievement has garnered him distinguished awards, such as the “2014 American Chemical Society David Y. Gin New Investigator Award” and “Taiwan Bio-Development Foundation Lecturer Scholar Award”.

Dr. Wu obtained his Ph.D. in Applied Chemistry from National Chiao Tung University and undertook postdoctoral research at the Scripps Research Institute, mentored by Prof. Chi-Huey Wong, a preeminent academician and a pioneer in glycosciences.

Sammi Chou

CFO

Ms. Sammi Chou leads Finance and Administration Departments at CHO PHARMA and holds positions of CFO and Acting Spokesperson. Ms. Chou is in charge of company’s finance strategic planning and risk management. She instigates strategic investments and implements management and operation system optimization.

Ms. Chou has worked in biotechnology field for more than 20 years and has extensive experience in financial management, financing, operation and IPO processes. During her career, she successfully completed financings and IPO for several companies, such as Fountain Biopharma and Oneness Biotech.

Ms. Chou graduated from Tamkang University with degree in Statistics and Banking & Finance.

Tanny

Director of Clinical Development

Tanny is currently playing a key role as the Director of Clinical Development at CHO Pharma. With a strong background in academic research and industrial drug development, particularly in translational medical science, she is committed to providing leadership and support throughout the drug development process, from bench to bedside.

Before joining CHO Pharma, she worked as a bench scientist in academic research for over 20 years. She later received advanced training in translational medicine, focusing on monoclonal antibody therapies for immune-related diseases, at global pharmaceutical companies such as AbbVie and Amgen in the United States. For family reasons, she relocated to Taiwan and joined Microbio, where she continued to pursue her passion in drug development and contributed her expertise to the biotech industry in her hometown. During her tenure at Microbio, she played a key role in preparing a business proposal that led to a successful $100 Million USD fundraising effort to support antibody drug development. Additionally, she had supported the regulatory approval of a botanical drug product.

Tanny earned her M.S. degree in Physiology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. She was also honored to receive a four-year NIH MD/PhD program training grant, which enabled her to pursue advanced education and training in the Molecular and Cellular Biology PhD program at Stanford University.

Kuo-Ching Chu

Director of Research & Development

Dr. Kuo-Ching Chu joined CHO PHARMA in 2013 and currently serves as Director of R&D. Dr. Chu specializes in the development of antibody glycoengineering platform technologies and has led the creation of CHO PHARMA’s proprietary patented glycoengineering platform. Under his leadership, the R&D team has achieved significant process optimization, enabling the platform to be applied more efficiently in drug discovery and development, while also facilitating the large-scale production of drug candidates. In addition, Dr. Chu has also been involved in the development of innovative glycan-based vaccines targeting cancer and bacterial infections.

Dr. Chu earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from National Tsing Hua University in 2008 and subsequently joined Genomics Research Center at Academia Sinica, where he began his research career in glycan-based vaccine development. He has accumulated nearly 20 years of experience in glycan-related drug development.

Board of Directors

Chairman Chao-Long Chen

Dr. Chen began his distinguished medical career after receiving a medical degree from Kaohsiung Medical University. His illustrious accomplishments earned him honorary PhDs from Universidad Nacional de Asunción Mbo'ehaovusu Tetãgua Paraguaygua and Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. Besides his position as the chairman of CHO PHARMA, Dr. Chen is a surgeon at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, a professor of surgery at Chang Gung University, and Honorary Superintendent of Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital.

Director Richard M. Tsai

Mr. Tsai obtained an MBA degree from Stern School of Business, New York University. He is the Chairman of Fubon Financial Holding Co., Ltd. and Fubon Life Insurance Co., Ltd. Mr. Tsai has received honorary PhDs in various fields, including an honorary PhD in business from Fu Jen Catholic University, an honorary PhD in medicine from Taipei Medical University, and an honorary PhD in Engineering from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.

Director Victor Ma

Mr. Ma graduated from Information Industrial and Management Department, National Cheng Kung University. He is currently the Chairman of Nestor Capital Investment Co., Ltd, a consultant of Fubon Life Insurance Co., Ltd, and serves as board of director in several companies.

Director Tzu-Ching Meng

Dr. Tzu-Ching Meng received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He is currently the Director of the Department of International Affairs and a Research Fellow at the Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica.

Director Shun-Ling Chen

Dr. Chen obtained her SDJ from Harvard Law School. She is the Co-Director and Associate Research Professor in Information Law Center, Institutum Iurisprudentiae, Academia Sinica.

Director Chung-Yi Wu

Dr. Wu obtained his PhD in applied chemistry from National Chiao Tung University. He is one of the major technical founders of CHO PHARMA. Before joining CHO PHARMA, he served as Research Professor at Genomic Research Center, Academia Sinica. Dr. Wu is currently the president of CHO PHARMA.

Independent Director Sung-Liang Yu

Professor Yu attained his Ph.D. from the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology at National Yang Ming University. He is currently the Director and a Professor at the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology, as well as a Joint Professor at the Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, the Department of Pathology, and the Graduate School of Advanced Technology at National Taiwan University.

Independent Director Shuan-Ta Liu

Mr. Liu received his MBA from National Chengchi University. He is the Chairman of Neoton Optronics Corporation and serves as board of director in several companies in the high-tech sector.

Independent Director Jeng-Jiann Chiu

Professor Chiu attained a Ph.D. in engineering from National Cheng Kung University. He is currently a Distinguished Investigator at the National Health Research Institutes, a consultant at the Research Center for Biotechnology and Medicine Policy, and an Adjunct Professor at Taipei Medical University. Dr. Chiu has won the 67th Ministry of Education Academic Award and 3 Outstanding Research Awards (2006, 2009, and 2014) from the National Science and Technology Council.