Heidelberg Pharma Appoints Dr. Dongzhou Jeffery Liu as New CEO Amid Leadership Transition

Heidelberg Pharma AG announced significant changes to its executive leadership with the appointment of Dr. Dongzhou Jeffery Liu as Chairman of the Executive Management Board and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. The company's Supervisory Board revoked the appointment of Professor Andreas Pahl as member of the Executive Management Board and Chief Executive Officer, marking a strategic shift in leadership for the clinical stage biotech company focused on developing innovative Antibody Drug Conjugates.

Dr. Liu's permanent appointment as Chairman of the Executive Management Board and Chief Executive Officer will become effective as of December 24, 2025, following his resignation from the Supervisory Board effective December 23, 2025. During the transition period until December 23, 2025, he will serve as a deputy member to the Executive Management Board pursuant to section 105 (2) of the German Stock Corporation Act. Dr. Karl Benedikt Biesinger, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Heidelberg Pharma AG, expressed gratitude for Professor Pahl's contributions, particularly his role in advancing the company's unique Amanitin-based ADC technology to the lead clinical stage ADC project HDP-101.

The leadership transition comes at a critical time for Heidelberg Pharma as the company advances its ATAC technology platform. Dr. Liu brings extensive industry experience to his new role, currently serving as Chief Scientific Officer and President of Huadong Global Development at Huadong Medicine in Hangzhou, China. His more than 25 years of pharmaceutical industry experience includes positions at major companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Wyeth (now Pfizer), and Forest Labs (now Abbvie), with expertise spanning clinical and preclinical research & development of medicinal products, including ADC products.

Dr. Liu expressed confidence in Heidelberg Pharma's technology platform, stating that the ATAC technology shows great potential for effective cancer treatment based on the latest clinical data with HDP-101. The company's lead candidate HDP-101 (INN: pamlectabart tismanitin) is a BCMA ATAC in clinical development for multiple myeloma and has received Orphan Drug Designation and Fast Track Designation from the FDA. Additional pipeline candidates include HDP-102 in clinical development for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, while HDP-103 targeting metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and HDP-104 for gastrointestinal tumors have completed preclinical development. More information about the company's technology and pipeline is available at https://www.heidelberg-pharma.com.

The leadership change represents a strategic move to strengthen Heidelberg Pharma's position in the competitive ADC landscape. The company's unique approach utilizes Amanitin from the green death cap mushroom as a payload in its ATAC technology, representing a novel therapeutic modality in cancer treatment. This technology combines the specificity of antibodies with the efficacy of toxins to target and kill diseased cells, with the biological mechanism of action offering a differentiated approach to cancer therapy. The appointment of Dr. Liu, with his extensive experience in ADC development and global pharmaceutical operations, positions the company to accelerate the advancement of its pipeline and explore potential partnerships in the evolving ADC therapeutics market.