WuXi Vaccines Names Jian Dong as CEO

WuXi Vaccines, a global vaccine contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has appointed Jian Dong as chief executive officer. WuXi Vaccines is a joint venture established between WuXi Biologics and Shanghai-based Hile Bio-Technology.

"We are delighted to announce Jian's new appointment. He is a highly regarded leader with over 30 years of bio-pharmaceutical experience, including vaccine production, process development, as well as the design, construction, qualification and operation management of cGMP manufacturing facilities," said Chris Chen, chairman, WuXi Vaccines. "We are confident that Jian will lead the company to establish a global high-quality system with outstanding vaccine CDMO capabilities. With a vision to accelerate and transform vaccine development and production, WuXi Vaccines will make substantial contributions to expedite vaccine development and ensure a robust supply chain."

Mr. Dong joined WuXi Biologics in 2014, and had been responsible for global biomanufacturing, global engineering, and the overall operations of Wuxi site since 2015. Under his leadership Wuxi’s site became the first GMP biologics Drug Substance (DS) and Drug Product (DP) facilities in China certified by both the U.S. FDA and EMA. Prior to WuXi Biologics, Mr. Dong spent decades in various roles with increasing responsibilities at Eli Lilly & Co. in the U.S., Shanghai United Cell Biotechnology and Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co., Ltd. With extensive experience in vaccine manufacturing and facility qualification, he had made significant contributions to the tech transfer and large scale commercial production of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine in China.

In February, WuXi Vaccines completed modular lab installation of its vaccine manufacturing facility in Ireland, which represents a great milestone since the announcement of $240 million investment last November. With smooth progress made in the site construction, this integrated vaccine manufacturing facility is expected to be operational in 2021.