Our Story
What happens when you bring together a team of renowned scientific leaders with a history of pioneering innovations and an ambitious vision? At PharmaEssentia, it leads to exciting innovations, rapid growth, and the potential to make a real impact for patients with rare hematologic cancers.
PharmaEssentia was created in 2003 to realize a compelling vision: Bring together leading scientists from the U.S., Taiwan and beyond to challenge the status quo for treatment of rare hematologic cancers. Led by Dr. Ko-Chung Lin, a scientist with experience leading pioneering work for Biogen®, our founders embarked on an ambitious plan to rethink interferon-based treatment opportunities. With enthusiastic support from the Taiwanese government and private investors, PharmaEssentia was born.
Today, guided by the vision of CEO Ko-Chung Lin and Chairperson Ching-Leou Teng, PharmaEssentia has grown to become a leader in the development and production of novel therapies. With hundreds of employees worldwide, including a growing presence in the U.S., PharmaEssentia is a publicly traded company (6446.TWO) with a rich pipeline. The company has fully integrated capabilities, including R&D and cGMP production facilities in Taiwan.
At PharmaEssentia, we believe true innovation lies in balancing rich science and inspired thinking. That’s why we encourage intellectual curiosity and a commitment to rigorous research. While we are passionate about innovation, we never lose sight of our goal: to create new treatment opportunities for underserved patient communities.
Meredith ManningMeredith Manning joined PharmaEssentia as General Manager for the U.S. in 2020, bringing with her more than 20 years of experience in global commercialization and brand building for biopharmaceuticals and medical devices. She was most recently Chief Commercial Officer at resTORbio™, and previously served as Vice President of Global Product Strategy in Hemophilia for Shire (formerly Baxalta) and Baxter. She previously held a series of marketing leadership roles at Vertex® and Pfizer.
Meredith received a B.S. at Colorado College and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Jack Hwang, Ph.D.Jack Hwang joined PharmaEssentia in 2006 and has served as General Manager in Taiwan since 2015. With training in organic chemistry, he has held a series of leadership roles at prior companies, including as Senior Director at Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Senior Group Leader at Array BioPharma®, and earlier as a research scientist at Amgen® and Ligand® Pharmaceuticals.
Jack completed his Ph.D. in organic chemistry and post-doctoral fellowship in natural product synthesis at the University of Pennsylvania.
Albert Qin, M.D. Ph.D.Albert Qin, who joined PharmaEssentia in 2017, brings more than 20 years of experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry with an emphasis on clinical development. Recent leadership roles include Chief Medical Officer at China Health Group, Chief Scientific Officer and Corporate Officer at SymBio Pharmaceuticals, and Medical Director at ImmunoGen™. Earlier in his career, he held clinical development and R&D roles at Pfizer, Bayer and Biogen®. At Biogen, he did innovative research and made discoveries related to cytokines, immunology, and gene therapy.
Albert completed his medical degree in the Department of Medicine at Shandong Medical University in China and his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. He completed a visiting research fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Ching-Leou Teng, Ph.D.Ching-Leou Teng offers extensive pharmaceutical science and development expertise to the PharmaEssentia team. After joining the company as head of operations in 2003, she became Chairperson in 2009. Prior to PharmaEssentia, Ching-Leou held multiple leadership roles in drug delivery research and pharmaceutical development at Ionis™ (formerly ISIS) Pharmaceuticals, and previously served as a reviewer in the Pharmacokinetics Evaluation Branch of the Division of Biopharmaceutics at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Early in her career, Ching-Leou was a registered pharmacist at hospitals in Taiwan.
Ching-Leou completed her B.S. in pharmacy at Taipei Medical College, followed by an M.S. in pharmaceutical science at North Dakota State University. She completed her Ph.D. and post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan.
Ko-Chung Lin, Ph.D.Ko-Chung Lin has led PharmaEssentia since 2002, driven by rich and diverse career experiences at leading U.S. pharmaceutical companies. He is recognized for medicinal chemistry advances in pegylation, including the invention of pegylated-interferon, that have led to the development and successful entry of multiple leading therapeutics. Prior to PharmaEssentia, Ko-Chung was head of the Adentri® and pegylated-Avonex® programs at Biogen®. Earlier in his career, he contributed to inventions in HIV in his research roles at Monsanto.
Ko-Chung received B.S. and M.S. degrees in chemistry from National Taiwan Normal University, his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan.