EXUMA Biotechnology Expands Leadership Team with Appointment of Chief Medical Officer and Chief Financial Officer

June 18, 2019 |

3 min read

EXUMA Biotechnology, a clinical-stage biotechnology company discovering and developing CAR-T products for solid tumors and affiliate of F1 Oncology, Inc., announced the expansion of its leadership team with the appointment of Wendy Li, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer and James Samuels as Chief Financial Officer.

June 18, 2019 22:00 UTC

Wendy Li, M.D. to Serve as Chief Medical Officer Based in Shanghai
James Samuels Named Chief Financial Officer to Be Based in Hong Kong and West Palm Beach

SHANGHAI & WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- EXUMA Biotechnology, a clinical-stage biotechnology company discovering and developing CAR-T products for solid tumors and affiliate of F1 Oncology, Inc., announced today the expansion of its leadership team with the appointment of Wendy Li, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer and James Samuels as Chief Financial Officer.

“It’s been a successful quarter for EXUMA with the positive announcement of interim results from two first-in-human solid tumor CAR-T products,” said Gregory Frost, Ph.D., Chairman of EXUMA. “It is my pleasure to welcome Dr. Li and James to the team; their expertise and broad experience will play a valuable role as EXUMA continues on its trajectory.”

Dr. Li has more than 20 years of medical and scientific leadership in oncology research and other therapeutic areas, as well as clinical practice experience. Dr. Li brings her experience in oncology development from Genentech, Sanofi, and Pfizer, as well as from her former position as Vice President of Clinical Development and CMO at Sihuan Pharma/Co-Xuanzhu Pharma, providing leadership on global early and late stage clinical studies, responding to FDA/CFDA and related agencies, and advising clinical, marketing, regulatory, and pharmacovigilance teams. Dr. Li received her M.D. from the Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Studies in China.

“EXUMA Biotechnology has a meaningful pipeline of exciting clinical and preclinical cellular therapy candidates,” said Dr. Li. “I look forward to bringing my clinical and research experience to the team and for the opportunity to develop life changing therapies for patients.”

James Samuels has nearly 20 years of experience managing finance for both public and private companies. Most recently, he served as the CFO of Vetsource, a venture capital-backed provider of outsourced veterinary pharmacy services. Previously, he served as the CFO of Fusheng Industrial, a Taiwan based global manufacturer of industrial compressors. Additionally, he has held various CFO roles at Johnson & Johnson operating companies in Asia-Pacific in the areas of medical devices, diagnostics and pharmaceuticals. Prior to leaving Johnson & Johnson, Samuels served as CFO of Xian-Janssen, Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical joint-venture in China. He holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity to be part of this talented team of individuals dedicated to finding treatments that will help patients across the world,” said Samuels. “I look forward to helping EXUMA build on its success to date.”

About EXUMA Biotechnology

EXUMA Biotechnology, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing CAR-T solutions for the solid tumor markets in Asia, was formed in April 2016 with capitalization and exclusive technology licenses from F1 Oncology, Inc. Its wholly owned subsidiaries, EXUMA Biotechnology Hong Kong Ltd. and Shanghai EXUMA Biotechnology Ltd., oversee the development, manufacturing, quality, clinical, regulatory, and commercial operating units located in Shanghai and Shenzhen, PRC. EXUMA Biotechnology was formed to maximize the development and commercialization of enabling products and technology from F1 Oncology in the Greater China markets. Learn more at exumabio.com.

EXUMA Biotechnology and F1 Oncology were founded and co-funded by Gregory Frost, Ph.D., co-founder and former CEO of Halozyme Therapeutics Inc., and current Managing Director of F1 BioVentures, LLC, a biotechnology-focused investment vehicle.

About F1 Oncology, Inc.

F1 Oncology, Inc. is a private Delaware corporation formed in November 2015 with operations in West Palm Beach, Florida, San Diego, California and international affiliates in Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, China. F1 Oncology leverages its globally integrated science, development and informatics teams located across multiple time zones to accelerate the design, high-throughput screening, discovery and development of adoptive cellular therapy (ACT) candidates. The company is developing CAB-based ACT platforms to advance TME-restricted CAR-T therapies for solid tumors, as well as highly scalable systems for global deployment, beginning in Asia. Learn more at f1oncology.com.