Yu Dechao (born February 4, 1964), also known as Michael Yu,[1] is the founder and CEO of the Chinese pharmaceutical company Innovent Biologics.[2] He received a PhD degree in Genetics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences[3] and completed post-doctoral training in pharmaceutical chemistry at the UCSF.[4] As an inventor and owner of more than 60 patents (including 38 U.S. patents),[4] Yu established Innovent Biologics in 2011.[5] He is a professor and doctoral supervisor of Sichuan University, a visiting professor of Zhejiang University and an adjunct professor at Suzhou University,[6] the chairman of the board of the Chinese Antibody Society.[7]
Yu was the vice president of Research and Development at Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:) and Calydon, Inc.,[8] the latter was acquired by Cell Genesys, Inc. in 2001, where he worked for three years following the acquisition.[9] In 2011, Yu founded Innovent Biologics, and it became listed on the Main Board of the HKEX with the stock code: 01801.HK. on October 31, 2018.
Yu invented and developed three "Class I" drugs in China.[10] He invented Oncorine (an oncology product),[11] which is the world's first oncolytic virus product;[12] Tyvyt (generic name: sintilimab), which is the domestically developed PD-1 antibody jointly developed by Innovent Biologics and Eli Lilly and Company,[13] and the key clinical results of Tyvyt in patients with r/r cHL have been published by the Lancet Haematology.[14] And Tyvyt has been officially approved by the National Medical Products Administration[15] for marketing in China for relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (r/r cHL) as the first approved indication.[16]
Yu Dechao was selected as "Most Influential Overseas Returnee in Life Sciences" in 2013; one of the "Top Ten Figure of Innovation in China" in 2014; "E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year in China" in 2015; "Distinguished Entrepreneur of Jiangsu Province" in 2016;[7] national "Person of the Year in Innovation for Science and Technology in 2016" in January 2017;[7] awarded as "The Seventh National Overseas Returnee Contributions Awards" in 2018.[9]