Heidelberg Pharma Appoints Dr. Dongzhou Jeffery Liu as New CEO Amid Leadership Transition
核心洞察
Heidelberg Pharma (搜索)'s supervisory board has appointed Dr. Dongzhou Jeffery Liu as Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO, effective December 24, 2025, replacing Prof. Dr. Andreas Pahl.
Dr. Liu brings over 25 years of pharmaceutical industry experience, currently serving as Chief Scientific Officer at Huadong Medicine (搜索) and President of Huadong Global Development (搜索) in China.
The leadership change occurs as the company advances its ATAC technology platform, with lead candidate HDP-101 in clinical development for multiple myeloma and having received FDA Orphan Drug and Fast Track designations.
Heidelberg Pharma (搜索) AG announced a significant leadership transition, with the supervisory board appointing Dr. Dongzhou Jeffery Liu as Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer, effective December 24, 2025. The appointment follows the revocation of Prof. Dr. Andreas Pahl's position as board member and spokesperson.
Dr. Liu resigned from his role as a supervisory board member of Heidelberg Pharma (搜索) effective December 23, 2025, to assume the CEO position. During the transition period from November 24 to December 23, 2025, he will serve as an interim board member according to Section 105(2) of the German Stock Corporation Act.
Executive Leadership Background
Dr. Liu currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer at Huadong Medicine (搜索) and President of Huadong Global Development (搜索) in Hangzhou, China. His pharmaceutical industry career spans more than 25 years, including leadership positions at major companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Wyeth (now Pfizer), and Forest Labs (搜索) (now AbbVie (搜索)). His extensive experience encompasses both clinical and preclinical drug research and development.
ATAC Technology Platform
Heidelberg Pharma (搜索) operates as a biopharmaceutical company developing novel antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for targeted cancer treatment. The company's proprietary ATAC technology utilizes Amanitin (搜索), a compound derived from the green death cap mushroom, representing the first use of this toxin in cancer therapy. The biological mechanism of action represents a new therapeutic modality in oncology.
ADCs combine the specificity of antibodies with the efficacy of toxins to combat cancer. Selected antibodies are loaded with cytotoxic compounds, called payloads, which are transported into diseased cells where the toxins unleash their effect and kill the diseased cells.
Clinical Pipeline Development
The company's lead candidate, HDP-101 (INN: pamlectabart tismanitin (搜索)), is a BCMA (搜索) ATAC in clinical development for multiple myeloma. The FDA has granted this candidate both Orphan Drug Designation and Fast Track Designation, highlighting its potential therapeutic significance.
A second ATAC candidate, HDP-102, is currently in clinical development for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Additionally, HDP-103, targeting metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, and HDP-104, designed for gastrointestinal tumors including colorectal cancer, have completed preclinical development.
Strategic Positioning
Based in Ladenburg, Germany, Heidelberg Pharma (搜索) is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under ISIN DE000A11QVV0. The company remains open to partnering opportunities as it advances its pipeline of ATAC-based therapeutics through clinical development.
The leadership transition comes at a critical juncture as the company continues to advance its innovative approach to cancer treatment through its proprietary ATAC technology platform.