Nanding Zhao joint China Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research Co., Ltd. (CNIBR) as Head of External Innovation in 2015. Before his career at CNI BR he held the position of Associate Director, External Research of Oncology PCU at Eisai, Inc. USA, a subsidiary of Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai, Co., Ltd. He was with Eisai for 17+ years where he held various positions from leading to managing drug discovery projects of anti-inflammatory and anticancer. Between 2009-2015 he led external initiatives to support Eisai Oncology PCU US preclinical operations and managed external collaborations from various aspects, from fee-for-services, contractual research, strategic alliance management and business development. Collaboration partners encompassed CROs in China, US, Europe and Japan, academic institutions of US and Japan, governmental agency (NIH/NCI), and biotech and pharma companies. At CNIBR he leads a group with similar mission to support R&D pipeline and projects.
Nanding earned his B.S. & M.S. degrees in Microbiochemistry from Chiba University Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Chiba, Japan), and a Doctor of Science degree in Molecular Biology and Medicine from Kyushu University Graduate School of Medical Sciences (Fukuoka, Japan). Post graduate studies, he conducted three-year research at The Section of Hematology/Oncology, The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine (Chicago, IL, USA) where he was promoted to Instructor (Research Associate) by 3rd year of postdoctoral training. He also has an MBA degree from Boston University Graduate School of Management (Boston, MA, US) in Healthcare Management.