Save The Date For 2026 CABS Investor Forum
Date: January 14, 2026 @ 8:00 am – @ 3:00 pm
Location: Morrison & Foerster LLP, 425 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
CABS is a volunteer-based, non-profit organization headquartered in San Francisco, committed to advancing the life sciences and biotech industry through education, collaboration, and networking.
The annual event, Investor Forum, held in conjunction with the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, has been a hallmark of CABS for nearly 16 years. This year's forum is scheduled to take place on January 14th, 2026, from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm at Morrison Foerster’s San Francisco office (425 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105).
Our event will feature two insightful panel discussions—“Navigating Global Biotech Capital: Opportunities and Challenges in Cross-Border Investment” and “Investor–Entrepreneur Dialogue: Building the Next Generation of Global Biotech Leaders.” In addition, more than10 early-stage companies will participate in the roadshow.
Agenda:
8:00 – 8:45 AM: Registration & Breakfast
8:45 – 9:00 AM: Welcome & CABS Introduction
Sihong Zhou, President, CABS
9:00 – 9:30 AM: Keynote
Jonathan Norris, Managing Director, HSBC Innovation
9:30 – 10:30 AM: Panel 1: Navigating Global Biotech Capital: Opportunities and Challenges in Cross-Border Investment
Moderator: Janet Xiao, Partner, Morrison Foerster LLP
Panelists: David Newman, Partner, Morrison Foerster LLP;
Qiang Lu, Co-founder & Chairman of the Board, GenFleet Therapeutic;
Eric Hu, Chief Business Officer, Expedition Therapeutics;
Leon Tang, Founder, InScienceWeTrust BioAdvisory;
Helen Chen, President, L.E.K. Consulting
10:30 – 10:45 AM: Coffee Break & Networking
10:45 – 11:45 AM: Roadshow
11:45 AM – 12:30 PM: Lunch & Networking
12:30 – 1:30 PM Panel 2: Investor–Entrepreneur Dialogue: Building the Next Generation of Global Biotech Leaders
Moderator: Wentao Zhang, Co-CEO, Frontage Laboratories, Inc.
Panelists: Hua Tu, President & CEO, Cerepeut;
Nan Ji, President & CEO, PAQ Therapeutic;
Hu Li, Venture Partner, Eight Roads (ERVC);
Ronjon Nag, R42 Group;
Neil Desai, Founder & CEO, Aanastra, Inc
1:30 – 2:15 PM: Roadshow
2:15 - 3:00 PM Closing remarks & Networking
Speakers Bio:
Jonathan Norris | Managing Director, HSBC Innovation
Jonathan Norris joined HSBC’s Innovation Banking Division in April 2023. He manages healthcare venture relationships and works with investors and companies on commercial banking and debt products.
In addition, for more than a decade, Jonathan has written comprehensive reports on the venture healthcare ecosystem, covering venture fundraising, investment, valuations and exits. These reports have been widely cited in the ecosystem and he often speaks at major investor and industry conferences. He has more than 20 years of healthcare banking experience.
Jonathan earned a B.S. in business administration from the University of California, Riverside, and a J.D. from Santa Clara University.
Janet Xiao | Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Janet focuses her practice on worldwide patent procurement, patent portfolio management, and strategic planning for life sciences companies. Janet’s clients range from large multinational biopharmaceutical companies to emerging startup companies. Recognized as being highly sought after for patent prosecution and strategy mandates, Janet develops and strengthens her clients’ complex patent portfolios to maximize commercial value. She is instrumental in developing strategies for multibillion-dollar patent portfolios for pharmaceutical clients. She also works extensively in performing IP due diligence reviews in the contexts of VC investments, technology transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and marketing and manufacturing clearance for biopharmaceutical products.
David Newman | Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
David Newman serves as co-chair of the firm’s National Security and Crisis Management practices, drawing upon his deep experience in private practice and as a senior U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and White House official to represent clients in high stakes matters involving national security, geopolitical risk, emerging technology, and crisis management. David also leads the firm’s interdisciplinary Government Strategies group.
A former Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security (PDAAG) and Associate Deputy Attorney General, David advises companies navigating cybersecurity incidents, sanctions and export control enforcement, Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) reviews, and Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) investigations. He has extensive experience conducting internal and government-facing cross-border investigations and representing clients in congressional inquiries and hearings.
Qiang Lu | Co-founder and Chairman of Board, GenFleet Therapeutics
As GenFleet's Co-founder and Chairman of the Board, Dr. Qiang Lu oversees the company's strategic planning, financial management and business operations. With over 20 years of experience in life sciences research and the development of innovative therapies, Dr. Lu boasts extensive expertise across multiple sectors within the industry. Leveraging both practical approaches and strategic foresight, he has successfully advanced numerous products to pivotal clinical and commercial stages. Since its inception in 2017, GenFleet has built up industry-leading capabilities in developing novel drug candidates spanning small molecules and biologics and was publicly listed on the main board of Hong Kong Stock Exchange in September 2025. The company has set up a highly differentiated RAS-targeted matrix including selective and Pan RAS inhibitors of diverse molecular types, with most assets leading their categories in clinical progress in China or globally. In addition, the company has pioneered a series of first-in-class combination therapies based on dual-target synergistic mechanisms.
Dr. Lu received his doctoral degree from Brandeis University and completed postdoctoral training at Tufts University. He joined Wyeth and Novartis in America and commanded numerous R&D programs to develop preclinical candidates. Following his overseas career, he served as vice president of WuXi AppTec in China, Chief Scientific Officer of Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group and Gloria Pharmaceuticals, and senior vice president of CStone Pharmaceuticals. Besides spearheading many compounds into late-stage clinical trials, he also played a major role in operating and promoting multinational R&D platforms.
Eric Hu | CBO, Expedition TherapeuticsEric Hu, Ph.D., serves as Chief Business Officer at Expedition Therapeutics, where he leads corporate strategy, business development, and partnerships, and supports fundraising and commercial initiatives. Prior to joining Expedition, Dr. Hu was Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy and Head of U.S. Operations at Overland Pharmaceuticals, where he helped establish Overland Therapeutics and advance the company’s CAR-T programs. Before that, he was a senior member of the business development team at Turning Point Therapeutics prior to its $4.1 billion acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb. Earlier in his career, Dr. Hu conducted research in antivirals, inflammation, and oncology before serving as an oncology search and evaluation liaison at Gilead Sciences. He earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from UCLA and his B.S. in Chemistry from Beijing Normal University.
Leon Tang | Founder, InScienceWeTrust BioAdvisory
Leon ‘Jun’ Tang, PhD is the founding partner of InScienceWeTrust BioAdvisory, a life sciences consulting company focused on the East-West cross-border BD&L and R&D collaborations in the pharmaceutical industry. ISWT BioAdvisory has advised 30+ biotech companies, investment funds, and other companies in the life sciences industry.
Dr. Tang is also the founder of InScienceWeTrust Community, a US-based nonprofit that has more than 4,000 active members from the Asian biotech community. Dr. Tang serves as a scientific advisor to Mianus Capital, a boutique US-based healthcare PE/VC fund currently focused on ophthalmology. He is also an advisor to BioSpark, an Asian biotech professional’s association based in Massachusetts.
Previously, Dr. Tang was a senior director of BD Search & Evaluation at Shanghai Henlius Biotech, a biotech sell-side analyst at Barclays Investment Bank, and a senior manager at the philanthropic venture fund of Cancer Research Institute of New York.
Dr. Tang has published more than 50 academic papers in prestigious journals like Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, Lancet Oncology, Science Translational Medicine, Nature Communications, Science Advances, PNAS, etc.
Dr. Tang received his bachelor’s degree from Tianjin University and master’s degree from Nankai University in China, a PhD degree from Icahn School of Medicine of Mount Sinai, and postdoctoral training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Dr. Tang is well recognized expert in China biotech, and he was featured by Caixin Magazine, China Newsweek, Endpoints News, Fierce Pharma, and many leading investment banks.
Helen Chen | President, L.E.K Consulting
Helen Chen is Global Sector Co-Head for Healthcare, Head of Asia Healthcare and a Greater China Managing Partner of L.E.K. Consulting based in Shanghai. Helen has over 30 years of consulting and industry experience in the U.S. and Asia markets and has lived in China since 2000. She helps companies expand their presence in China and Asia, and leverages Asia’s innovation to improve their global businesses. Helen was named one of Consulting magazine’s Global Leaders in Consulting in 2019.
Prior to joining L.E.K., Helen was an associate director of finance at Genentech (now Roche) and a sales planner at Abbott Laboratories (now Abbvie). Helen has an honors B.A. degree in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University.
Wentao Zhang | Co-CEO, Frontage Laboratories, Inc.
Dr. Wentao Zhang is the Co-CEO of Frontage Lab, a global CRO providing solutions from early drug discovery to phase 1 clinical development with operations in North America, Asia and Europe. Wentao joined Frontage in 2021 when Frontage acquired Quintara Discovery, an innovative drug discovery service organization in the San Francisco Bay Area that he founded in 2012. Before founding Quintara, Wentao was Senior Director at Exelixis where he managed key drug discovery platforms and contributed to two FDA-approved oncology therapeutics. Wentao published extensively and also served as an ad hoc member of the NIH study section.
Wentao received his BS in Chemistry from Peking University and PhD in Biophysical Chemistry from University of Wisconsin-Madison. He did postdoctoral research at the University of California-Berkeley.
Hua Tu | President and CEO of CerepeutDr. Hua Tu is a scientist and biotech entrepreneur best known as the founder and former CEO of LakePharma, Inc., a leading U.S. biologics contract research, development, and manufacturing organization. He founded LakePharma in 2009 after more than 11 years at Tularik and Amgen, where he gained deep experience in biologics and drug development. Under his leadership, LakePharma expanded to six sites across California, Massachusetts, and Texas, serving hundreds of biopharmaceutical clients before being successfully acquired by Curia Global in 2021. Today, Dr. Tu serves as Chairman and CEO of the Maragin Health Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing biomedical research. He is also President and CEO of Cerepeut, a leading longevity drug development company.
Nan Ji | President and CEO of PAQ TherapeuticsDr. Nan Ji is President and CEO of PAQ Therapeutics. He is a prolific inventor and discoverer, with more than 30 patent applications filed. With three years spent at Kymera Therapeutics from the time the company was in its seed stage, he is also an expert at building an organization from the ground up. At Kymera, Dr Ji served as Vice President of Chemistry and played significant roles in driving the company scientific strategies, platform-building activities, and business development, as well as external collaborations crucial to the company’s success in targeted protein degradation technology. Before Kymera, Dr Ji spent 2 years at Mitobridge (now part of Astellas), where he was responsible for its NAD+-boosting portfolio with multiple approaches to modulate mitochondrial functions. Prior to that, he spent 7+ years at Novartis, where he contributed to and delivered multiple clinical and preclinical development candidates. Dr Ji earned his PhD in organic chemistry from Harvard University.
Hu Li | Venture Partner, Eight Roads (ERVC)
Dr. Hu Li is a Venture Partner of Eight Roads (ERVC). He manages existing portfolios, leads investment in therapeutics, participates in company creation including playing executive roles.
Hu has over 25 years of multi-modality drug discovery, translational and preclinical development at strategic and operational levels within the global biopharmaceutical industry.
Prior to ERVC, Hu was Vice President of Shanghai Miracogen, later acquired by Lepu Biopharma (2157.HK), a China biotech startup he cofounded. Hu was instrumental to the company’s R&D strategy, led pipeline construction, and advanced five ADC programs from discovery to the clinic, including one recent NMPA market approval, MRG003, three in registration trials including Claudin 18.2 ADC, CMG901, he co-invented and outlicensed to AZ for $1.1B USD.
Before returning to China in 2015, Hu had 19-year tenure at GSK R&D in Philadelphia where he started as a bench biochemist and gained increasing responsibilities and significant experience in drug discovery in multiple TAs. From 2012 to 2014, Hu served as Discovery Biology Consultant for Scinovo providing drug discovery expertise for program evaluations for SR One and external alliances.
Hu has B.Sc. in Chemistry from Nanjing University, M.Sc. from Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Bryn Mawr College.
Ronjon Nag | R42 Group, Adjunct Professor, Stanford University
Professor Ronjon Nag is an inventor and entrepreneur. He is an Adjunct Professor in Genetics at the Stanford Medicine. He is a founder of R42 Group - an AI and Longevity Fund - and advisor/board member of multiple start-ups. His companies have been sold to Apple, BlackBerry, and Motorola. He works at the intersection of AI and Biology. He has been awarded the Mountbatten Medal, the $1m Verizon Powerful Answers Award, and inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame.
Professor Nag has a Ph.D from Cambridge, an M.S from M.I.T and a B.Sc. from Birmingham in the UK, and is an Adjunct Professor in Genetics at the Stanford School of Medicine.
Neil Desai | Founder and CEO, Aanastra, Inc
Neil Desai, PhD, is the Founder, CEO and Chairman of Aanastra, Inc., and cofounder of Divincell SAS, companies that are pioneering novel peptide-based RNA therapeutic drug delivery for the treatment of cancer and genetic diseases.
Dr. Desai is also the founder, Executive Chairman, Board member and former CEO (2014-Dec 2022) of Aadi Bioscience, which he steered to the public market (AADI: Nasdaq) in August 2021,and to the approval as well as commercialization of its flagship drug FYARRO, the first FDA approved therapy for advanced malignant perivascular epithelioid cell tumor (PEComa), an ultra-rare sarcoma . He was responsible for building Aadi from a single person to over 80 employees and raised multiple financing rounds (private and public) totaling over $265M. The commercial product FYARRO was acquired by Kaken Pharma for $100M in 2025.
Dr Desai is the inventor of the foundational nab technology (nab-sirolimus (FYARRO) and nab-paclitaxel (ABRAXANE). Dr. Desai was previously the SVP of global R&D at Abraxis Bioscience, where he invented the nab technology and grew and led the Abraxane team through all drug development stages and approvals in Breast, Lung and Pancreatic cancer. He was part of the team that was responsible for the acquisition of Abraxis by Celgene Corp for approximately $3B in 2010 and was subsequently VP of Strategic Platforms at Celgene until 2016. Prior roles during his 25+ year career include senior positions at American BioScience, Inc., VivoRx, Inc. and VivoRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (predecessor companies of Abraxis), where he worked on the early discovery and development of Abraxane, developed novel encapsulation systems for living cells and was part of the team that performed the world’s first successful encapsulated islet cell transplant in a diabetic patient.
Dr. Desai received a M.S and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, USA, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai, India.
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