Tong Zhang joins Jing Li at VelaVigo
Plus: Coherus, Allen Institute, Transcenta
Tong Zhang has reunited with his former WuXi colleague Jing Li at Shanghai-based VelaVigo (Shanghai) Ltd., where he is co-founder, CBO and CFO. Zhang, who joins the newco from Shanghai Genechem Co. Ltd. where he was CBO, is a veteran of the global BD team of Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK). He joined Merck in 2010 as pan-regional lead, emerging markets business development. After his six-year tenure at the pharma, which included more than three years as BD lead in China, WuXi AppTec Co. Ltd. (Shanghai:603259; HKEX:2359) Chairman and CEO Ge Li hired him to lead global BD for WuXi, a title he held for a year and a half. Next, as a managing director at C-Bridge Capital (now CBC Group), Zhang helped incubate Everest Medicines Ltd. (HKEX:1952), which in 2019 priced one of the biggest IPOs to date on the Hong Kong stock exchange’s biotech chapter. Li is VelaVigo’s co-founder CEO. The start-up, which initially is focusing on cancer and autoimmune diseases, debuted with $50 million in angel money in November.
Coherus BioSciences Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRS) hired Theresa LaVallee as chief development officer. LaVallee was most recently VP of translational medicine and regulatory affairs at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy...