SAPA Successfully Held the 24th Annual Meeting in Somerset, New Jersey

Somerset, NJ, October 08, 2016 --(PR.com)-- The Sino-American Pharmaceutical Professionals Association (SAPA) hosted its 24th annual meeting at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel and Conference Center in Somerset, New Jersey on October 1, 2016, with over 1,000 professionals, including corporate executives, scientists, investors, and lawyers, in attendance, and with another 2,000 attendees joining through the live webcast of the event. The annual meeting marked a special occasion as it coincided with the 67th National Day of the People’s Republic of China and many attendees traveled from China to join this event.

The meeting featured 56 distinguished guests exploring the theme of “Transforming Drug Development, Changing Lives, Bringing Innovation and Better Medicines to Patients Fast.” The one-day event, meticulously organized by all-volunteer pharmaceutical professionals, consisted of a plenary session in the morning, 6 parallel break-out sessions in afternoon, a networking reception sponsored by the Talent Office of the Chengdu City, China, and a gala dinner titled the “Night of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co., Ltd.”

Dr. Weiguo Dai, the immediate past president of SAPA, opened the plenary session with warm welcome remarks, restating SAPA’s mission to bring significant values to members and communities, highlighting SAPA’s over 60 events held in the past year, celebrating SAPA’s global influence on pharmaceutical R&D and beyond, and thanking all the volunteers’ hard work. Next, Dr. Jijun Xing, Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in the United States, spoke about the importance of the exchange and collaboration between the Chinese and American pharmaceutical communities and recognized SAPA’s key role in bridging China and the US in the pharmaceutical fields.

The morning session was highlighted by Mr. Isaac Blech, a founder of 13 successful biotechnology companies including Celgene, who sang the Chinese National Anthem to a standing ovation and shared his secrets for creating success from scratch. Dr. Josh Ghaim, Chief Technical Officer of Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies, talked about J&J’s credo and efforts to change the face of healthcare – from mere sick care to global healthcare access – through powerful worldwide collaborations with governments, academia, and healthcare workers. Dr. Axel Hoos, Senior Vice President, Oncology R&D, GlaxoSmithKline, shared his insights and promising results in tumor immunotherapy. Dr. Lichun Wang, Vice President of the Kelun Pharmaceutical Research Institute, presented the development and success story of Kelun. Ms. Sandra Leung, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of BMS, questioned the disturbing trend of unjust criminal prosecution against Chinese American scientists implicating economic espionage and trade secrets thefts, cautioned that the heightened suspicion against Chinese American scientists is not without basis, and shared tips on proper procedures of trade secrets protection.

The afternoon break-out sessions centered on hot topics related to the latest development in immune-oncology, global innovation, commercialization strategy, marketing execution entrepreneurship, business, venture capital investment, and career development. A CEO forum, featuring two panels of top pharmaceutical executives, explored the challenges and opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry. Close to 40 pharmaceutical companies, universities, and other organizations also exhibited at the annual meeting, mainly focusing on business development and talent recruiting.

The annual meeting concluded in the celebration of past achievements and welcoming of the new leadership team, led by current president Dr. Lei Tang of Sanofi and president-elect Dr. Jian Liu of Merck. The SAPA leadership, distinguished guests, and attendees all agreed that the contents, scale, and influence of the event are unprecedented in the SAPA history.