HanchorBio (Hanchor-KY) announced after its board meeting on the 6th that it has created the new position of President under the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The role will be assumed by board member and Senior Clinical Advisor Alvin Ying-Ming Luk, who will oversee global business development (BD) and licensing partnerships for the company’s drug pipeline. Luk will also serve concurrently as Group Chief Medical Officer, responsible for clinical development and regulatory submissions across all programs, as well as CEO of HanchorBio USA. His appointment will take effect on November 12.

HanchorBio stated that Luk brings extensive experience in clinical operations, licensing negotiations, and global fundraising. His appointment marks a significant milestone as the company accelerates its global clinical advancement and business expansion.

Luk holds broad academic training in biomedical sciences and management. Before earning his MBA from Harvard Business School, he received a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and earlier obtained a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a master’s degree in Cell Development and Physiology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Luk has many years of biopharmaceutical industry experience in the United States, holding leadership roles in clinical development and medical affairs at Bayer, Biogen, and Spark Therapeutics—a gene therapy subsidiary of Roche. He later served as Chief Medical Officer at Shanghai Henlius Biotech and was subsequently invited to become CEO of global biotech companies including Neurophth Therapeutics and VedaBio.

To date, Luk has contributed to more than 250 clinical regulatory filings across the U.S., Europe, Brazil, Russia, India, Australia, Japan, and China. He has successfully participated in multiple new drug applications (NDA/BLA/MAA) and has led or contributed to the approval of 22 marketed products. Notably, he spearheaded the development of LUXTURNA, the world’s first FDA-approved gene therapy for inherited retinal disease, during his tenure as Vice President and Head of Clinical Research & Operations at Spark Therapeutics.

Beyond clinical and BD expertise, Luk has also helped secure over US$121 million in financing and participated in three IPOs across Hong Kong and the U.S., giving him deep global fundraising experience and an extensive industry and investor network.

He previously served on the FDA Rare Diseases Clinical Trial Design Committee, where he worked to optimize clinical trial methodologies to shorten drug development timelines. He has co-authored more than a hundred medical and scientific papers in leading journals including The New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Medicine, Nature, Cell, and Science. In 2025, Luk was selected for the TIME 100 Health list as one of the most influential figures in the global health sector, recognizing his breakthrough contributions to gene-editing therapies for rare diseases.

Luk joined HanchorBio in 2022 as a board member and Senior Clinical Advisor. He stated that Hanchor-KY’s mission to provide breakthrough yet accessible immunotherapies aligns perfectly with his lifelong goal of transforming scientific innovation into meaningful treatments for patients. Having witnessed the company’s scientific and clinical milestones over the past three years, he said that in his new role as President and Chief Medical Officer, he will continue to build a medical ecosystem grounded in rigorous science, operational excellence, and patient-centric values.

HanchorBio noted that it is honored to welcome Luk as a core member of its leadership team. As its best-in-class anticancer fusion protein HCB101 enters a pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial, the company will concurrently advance global licensing and strategic partnership discussions. With Luk’s proven expertise interacting with regulatory agencies in the U.S., Europe, and China, along with his strong industry network, he is expected to help HanchorBio craft competitive and forward-looking clinical and regulatory strategies, guide teams in efficiently advancing clinical programs while mitigating development risks, and significantly enhance the value and global visibility of both the company and its products. HanchorBio aims to solidify its position as a highly competitive global innovator in biopharmaceuticals.

Resource: 漢康人事新布局…陸英明出任總裁兼醫療長 加速創新藥全球開發與BD授權