AFCR - CityU Innovation Series in Biomedicine

Abstract

Developing new and effective cancer treatments represent some of today’s most challenging scientific and business problems. Promising laboratory research discoveries and innovations from universities or medical centers must go through the so-called “Valley of Death” to advance into human clinical trials and patient use.

This translational research and development space is often vastly underfunded due to the high risk and long horizon of timelines. It’s also critical to find qualified entrepreneurs who, on the one hand, understand science and medicine and, on the other hand, can raise the finances needed, and lead the development and commercialization of new drugs and technologies onto the market.

AFCR launched the BRACE (Bridging Research from Academia to Cancer Entrepreneurship) Award in 2019 to support early-stage biotechs with critically-needed funding and valuable resources, such as access to key opinion leaders and angel investors within our global network.

Over the past four years, under the leadership of Dr Ba, AFCR has worked with hundreds of early-stage oncology companies. Dr Ba will share valuable insights and pitfalls of building startups from academic discoveries, along with some best practices of entrepreneurs and founders of oncology startups. She will also share her vision of creating a private-public partnership with a viable and prospective training platform and ecosystem in Hong Kong to help train the new generation of young faculty and science students to engage in the entrepreneurial translation of medical innovations that save cancer patients in Hong Kong and worldwide.

Speaker Bio

Dr Sujuan Ba serves as the President and CEO of the National Foundation for Cancer Research. She led the establishment of NFCR’s annual Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research, and has served continuously as co-chair of the Prize Selection Committee which consists of leaders in academic and pharmaceutical sectors.

Dr Sujuan Ba is the Founder and CEO of the Asian Fund for Cancer Research. She co-founded and serves as the Founding CEO of AIM-HI Accelerator Fund, focused on advancing oncology startups through venture philanthropy and impact investments. She was named as one of the “Top 300 Women Leaders in Global Health” in 2015 by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies’ Global Health Program. She received her B.S. in radiochemistry from Peking University and her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania.