Joo-Sung Yang

VP and Head of the New Therapeutics Business Development at Samyang Biopharm

Speaker

Joo-Sung Yang, Ph.D. is the VP and Head of the New Therapeutics Business Development at Samyang Biopharm, where his team focuses on developing innovative drug delivery systems (DDS), the Selectivity Enabling NanoShell (SENS) platforms, which enable tissue-/organ-specific delivery. This technology is especially well-suited for gene therapies.

Prior to joining Samyang Biopharm in April 2025, he served as Senior Vice President at ST PHARM, where he led the Biotechnology R&D division. His team was responsible for the development and scale-up of mRNA-LNP manufacturing processes for large-scale GMP production. They also provided comprehensive mRNA CDMO services, supporting clients from early R&D stages through to IND-enabling packages. He played a pivotal role in the development of STP2104, a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine developed for Korean nationals. He led the team through the successful completion of Phase I clinical trials and was actively involved in establishing mRNA platform technology and GMP manufacturing capabilities.

He brings nearly 30 years of experience in viral pathogenesis, vaccine development (both prophylactic and therapeutic), and human gene therapy vectors. He served as a principal investigator for preclinical and clinical trials of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine under the support of the Korean government.

Before his industry leadership roles, he was involved in R&D for gene therapy at various biotech companies and held academic positions at Sungkyunkwan University. He completed postdoctoral training in human gene therapy and DNA vaccines at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a B.Sc. from Sogang University and a Ph.D. in viral immunology from North Carolina State University.