Overview

Gender

female

Samantha Du is a Managing Director of Sequoia Capital China, responsible for healthcare investment. Dr. Du joined Hutchison China in June 2001 as Senior Vice President and has since led all aspects of development and management of the company’s R&D strategy. In 2002, she gained HWL’s approval for the establishment of Hutchison MediPharma and has built up the company to over 70 employees. Dr. Du has led the advancement of two Phase II US clinical trials; the establishment of a rich discovery portfolio in less than three years; and establishment of strategic alliances with world leading research institutions and companies. Dr. Du is a well-recognised leader in the R&D arena in China through her advisory roles to various government bodies. Dr. Du started her research career at Pfizer’s global R&D site in Connecticut, in the US, and led teams that delivered multiple INDs and NDAs for various anti-infective, cardiovascular, and metabolic medicines. Her last role at Pfizer was in the Global Strategic Operations Group, where she was in charge of licensing and related mergers and acquisitions activities in the metabolic disease area.



Dr. Du received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Cincinnati, in the US and her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Molecular Biology and Chemistry from Jilin University, China.

Prior to joining Sequoia China in 2012, Du founded and served as the Chief Executive Officer of Hutchinson MediPharma (HMP) for ten years. She was also the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Hutchinson Chi-Med (LSE:HCM), a London AIM-listed company. She has built Hutchison Medipahram from scratch to a leading china based world renowned biotech company with rich product in both oncology and autoimmune. Under her leadership, the company has pioneered China’s FIH green channel, established first of its kind collaborations with multinational companies including JNJ, Lilly, PG etc. She was both on the planning committee and expert panel of the 12th five year state healthcare key projects.

Prior to Hutchison, Du worked as a US-based executive of Pfizer’s global R&D and Metabolic business. She was involved in the development of multiple early and late stage product development, of which two were approved and launched globally. While at Pfizer, she served on FDA’s working committee.

She is currently an Adjunct Professor at Fudan University’s School of Pharmacy and Chair of Pudong Drug Innovative Committee.

Du is a recipient of Shanghai’s 2010 Magnolia award (an honorable citizenship award) and recipient of Shanghai’s thousand talent program. She was featured by many magazines and world renowned newspapers, including WSJ and Forbes and was on the cover of Forbe’s Asia in 2007.