OUR LEADERSHIP

Lieming Ding, M.D, Chairman of the Board

Lieming Ding, M.D., serves as Chairman of the Board at Xcovery. Dr. Ding currently is also the chairman and CEO of Betta Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. He returned to China from US in 2002 to start Betta Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd, a company focusing on research and development of innovative drugs. In August 2011, Betta Pharmaceutical launched icotinib (Conmana), the first targeted therapy developed in China for non-small cell lung cancer, which is a milestone for the Chinese anticancer industry. In 2012 and 2014, the WIPO and SIPO of China issued Gold award to icotinib for its two invention patents. Icotinib won the first prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in 2016, which is the first time that the chemical and pharmaceutical industry won the prize. In the same year, icotinib also won the China Industry Award, the top accolade of industry sector. To date, icotinib has a total sales revenue of over 3.4 billion RMB and has benefited more than 100,000 patients. Dr. Ding’s accomplishment in Chinese pharmaceutical industry has won him numerous honors, such as distinguished expert of All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, Deputy of the 12th National Peoples’ Congress, key member of Chinese National Key Special Program of Innovative Drugs, and Chairman of China Pharmaceutical Innovation and Research Development Association (PhIRDA).
Dr. Ding completed his resident training in pathology at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Li Mao, M.D., Chief Executive Officer

Prior to joining Xcovery, Dr. Mao was the Vice President and Head of the Johnson & Johnson China Lung Cancer Center. Before that, Dr. Mao acted as a Professor and Chair of Department of Oncology and Diagnostic Sciences, and Associate Dean for Research at University of Maryland, Baltimore. Dr. Mao has also served as Leader, Experimental Therapeutics Program in the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center. Previously, Dr. Mao was a Professor in the Department of Thoracic and Head & Neck Medical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he is currently an Adjunct Professor.  Dr. Mao has played a critical role in a number of landmark multi-institution research programs, and has authored and co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles cited more than 24,000 times.

Giovanni Selvaggi, M.D., Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Selvaggi held positions of increasing responsibilities at various global pharmaceutical companies prior to joining Xcovery.  Dr. Selvaggi joined the pharmaceutical industry in 2010 with a role of medical director at GSK in the MAGE-A3 cancer vaccine lung program.  He then played an instrumental role in the successful development and registration of ceritinib (Zykadia) at Novartis in ALK translocated NSCLC.  Most recently, Dr. Selvaggi was a part of the immunotherapy team at Bristol-Myers Squibb as a Program Lead in different thoracic malignancies with a focus on SCLC.  Dr. Selvaggi received his medical degree at the University of Torino Medical School in 1992 and served as staff physician of Thoracic Oncology at the University Hospital in Torino, Italy participating in several clinical trials in lung cancer and mesothelioma over a span of 16 years.

Chris Liang, Ph.D., EVP and Chief Scientific Officer

Chris Liang, Ph.D., is the co-founder of Xcovery. He is a leading scientist in the design of protein kinase inhibitors who has authored more than 40 scientific publications and secured more than 50 patents. Dr. Liang is co-developer of Sutent®, an FDA approved multi-kinase inhibitor for resistant gastrointestinal stromal tumors, advanced renal cell carcinoma, and advanced, progressive, well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, which he developed while serving as director of medicinal chemistry at SUGEN. SUGEN and Sutent® were acquired by Pfizer. Additionally, Dr. Liang served as director of medicinal chemistry at Scripps Research Institute in Florida before starting Xcovery.

Dr. Liang’s research focuses on the design of protein kinase inhibitors by combining computational modeling, medicinal chemistry and broad knowledge in other areas of drug discovery. His recent work has focused on the reduction of toxicity in existing multi-kinase inhibitors. Dr. Liang holds a Ph.D. in theoretical chemistry from Princeton University.

Kimberly Harrow, MBA, Vice President, Clinical Operations

Kimberly Harrow has been with Xcovery since its founding and has more than 15 years of oncology research and development experience. Ms. Harrow manages the worldwide clinical operations for all of Xcovery’s development programs, including clinical trials. Ms. Harrow holds an MBA and B.S. in biology from the University of Florida.

Cristina Mallory, MS., & MBA, Vice President, Finance & Administration

Cristina Mallory joined Xcovery in 2016 and brought with her a solid background in Finance and Accounting; having spent over 15 years at Thermo Fisher Scientific in various finance leadership role. Ms. Mallory manages the global process within finance and accounting, including business administration, compliance and human resources. Ms. Mallory holds an MBA from the University of Florida, M.S. and B.S. in Business Administration, major in Accounting from the University of St Thomas.