WuXi PharmaTech Names New Head of Product Development

WuXi PharmaTech Inc., a pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device R&D outsourcing company with operations in China and the United States, has hired Hua Mu as senior vice president of operations and global head of the Product Development Service and Partnership Business Unit.

He reportes to Ge Li, founder, chairman and CEO of WuXi PharmaTech.

Mu has more than 18 years of clinical research and development experience, having held medical and clinical leadership positions with several global pharmaceutical and biotech companies, including Roche, Abraxis Bioscience (now Celgene), Biogen Idec, Genentech, and Procter & Gamble. Mu’s responsibilities have included early and late-stage development of cytotoxic agents, small molecules, and monoclonal antibodies; management of clinical and regulatory organizations; creation and oversight of external collaborations and partnerships; interaction with regulatory authorities in the United States, Europe and Asia; and advancement of drug candidates to market and through their post-market development.

Before joining WuXi, he was the executive vice president and chief medical officer at Hutchison MediPharma. Mu received his medical degree from West China University of Medical Sciences and a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of California at Berkeley, under the mentorship of Dr. Mary-Claire King, a renowned cancer geneticist and the discoverer of the breast cancer BRCA gene. Earlier in his career, Mu was a senior fellow at the schools of medicine at the University of California in San Francisco and the University of Washington, where he conducted translational research on autoimmune diseases and breast cancer.

“I am delighted to welcome Hua to WuXi’s leadership team,” said Li. “Hua brings extensive experience, particularly in clinical development in China, that is very critical for WuXi to help our partners bring their innovations to China and to develop innovative drugs to benefit Chinese patients.”

Shanghai, China-based WuXi PharmaTech provides pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies with laboratory and manufacturing services throughout the drug and medical device R&D process.

The operating subsidiaries of WuXi PharmaTech are known as WuXi AppTec. In the United States, WuXi has facilities in St. Paul, Minn.; Atlanta, Ga.; Philadelphia and Landsdale, Pa; San Diego, Calif.; and Edison, N.J.