Trade journal highlights UC grad's $3 billion biotech lab

Samantha Du started Zai Lab in 2014 to bring new drugs to market in China

The trade journal c&en (chemical and engineering news) highlighted the work of University of Cincinnati biochemistry graduate Samantha Du, who founded a biotech company valued at more than $3 billion today.

Du, a 1994 doctoral graduate of UC's College of Arts and Sciences, is founder and chief executive of Zai Lab, a Shanghai company that has brought several new cancer treatments to market.

Du studied biochemistry at UC before joining Pfizer, Inc. Previously, she co-founded Hutchinson Chi-Med, where she also served as chief scientific officer.

She then worked for an investment company before starting Zai Lab in 2014.

"It's really hard to have mentors when you're doing something that nobody has done before," Du told c&en. "I think it's important for me to nurture the next generation of leaders, whether male or female."

Featured image at top: China is developing a new biotech industry to bring prescription drugs to market. Photo/Laurynas Mereckas/Unsplash

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The University of Cincinnati is classified as a Research 1 institution by the Carnegie Commission and is ranked in the National Science Foundation's Top-35 public research universities. UC's graduate students and faculty investigate problems and innovate solutions with real-world impact. Next Lives Here.

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