Wei-Wei Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.
Co-Founder and CEO
GenWay Biotech, Inc.

Dr. Wei-Wei Zhang, is co-founder and Chief of Executive Officer for GenWay Biotech, Inc. Dr. Zhang has been involved in founding several biotechnology companies and establishing two corporate and academic R&D units. He has 18 years of experience in biomedical research and 9 years of R&D management, including technology innovation, product development, regulatory affairs, and fund-raising. From 1996 to 1998, he directed a spin-off of the Gene Therapy Unit from Baxter Healthcare Corporation that resulted in the establishment of GenStar Therapeutics Corporation. As a member of the Board of Directors and Sr. Vice President for Research & Development of GenStar, he was responsible for the successful completion of preclinical studies for an advanced gene therapy product for the treatment of hemophilia A and its subsequent clinical trial in 2001. These activities caused the Company’s valuation to grow from $20 million to over $400 million with in one and half year. Prior to GenStar, he worked at Baxter for 3.5 years as an R&D Director in the Gene Therapy Unit. He also played an interface role between the Baxter Gene Therapy Unit and Baxter’s international partners. From 1992 to1995, as an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Anderson Cancer Center, he drove an invention of a product for cancer gene therapy and led the program development from laboratory to clinic. This product is currently one of the most advanced gene therapy products in the world. The technology that he contributed led to $50 million in funding and the establishment of the gene therapy startup, Introgen, Inc. Wei-Wei Zhang obtained his M.D. degree in 1982 in China. He acquired his Ph.D. degree in 1989 at the University of Alabama and completed his junior faculty development at the Baylor College of Medicine. He has filed 12 patents and published more than 60 peer-reviewed papers.

Abstract: GenWay Biotech, Inc., founded in February 1998, is specializing in antibody-based functional genomics. The Company has developed a proprietary technology platform named AMIGAP, the Antibody-Mediated Identification of Genes And Proteins. The basic process of the AMIGAP technology is to generate polyclonal antibodies in chickens using expression vectors of genes or gene fragments, through screening to find the protein targets in cells or tissues that are encoded by the genes. We employ a unique approach to overcome the limitation by generating gene-specific antibodies via gene expression vector-mediated avian immunization. We applies microarray technology for the development of antibody chips (glass slides containing an array of thousands of antibodies), which is an effective, high-throughput, screening device for identifying tens of thousands of unknown proteins in different tissues under different physiological or pathological conditions (i.e. protein expression profiling). With gene-specific antibodies, We can identify new proteins or drug targets. In addition, AMIGAP technology can generate a Gene-Antibody-Protein (GAP) integrated database. New proteins and genes with their functional information will be generated through this process. The information generated through AMIGAP technology can also be used to develop therapeutic antibodies. The AMIGAP technology platform allows the Company to develop multiple proprietary products through internal R&D and diversified corporate partnerships.