Proven leadership, purpose-built for this moment

LEADERSHIP TEAM

Pinnacle Medicines is led by a team that has advanced first-in-class oral peptide therapeutics into the clinic and built successful biotech companies, positioning us as the right team at the right time to deliver the next generation of oral peptide medicines.

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Chengzao Sun, Ph.D.
Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Chengzao Sun is the Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Pinnacle Medicines, overseeing scientific research and development activities (R&D) on the macrocyclic therapeutics portfolio. He brings more than 20 years of experience in peptide drug discovery and development, with a track record spanning Amylin, Merck, and J&J. Before joining Pinnacle Medicines, Dr. Sun served as Head of the Peptide Platform and Early Portfolio at J&J, where he directed modality strategy, portfolio prioritization, and cross-functional development efforts from early research through clinical entry.
Dr. Sun has led programs across the full R&D continuum - from discovery and lead optimization through IND-enabling studies and Phase 1-3 clinical development. His leadership includes integrated responsibilities to enable seamless transition of innovative discovery peptide programs into the clinic.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Sun held research and leadership positions at Amylin, Merck, contributing to multiple peptide programs in cardiometabolic, neuroscience and oncology disease indications. Dr. Sun earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Brown University and is inventor on numerous patents related to injectable and oral peptide therapeutic technologies.
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Sandeep Somani, Ph.D.
Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Sandeep Somani is the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Pinnacle Medicines, leading the development of a pioneering peptide design platform to rapidly advance multiple hit series.
Dr. Somani brings more than 20 years of experience in computational chemistry applied across modalities (small molecules, peptides, biologics and vaccines), with a track record of leveraging cutting-edge methods to advance drug discovery programs.
Prior to Pinnacle Medicines, Dr. Somani developed novel simulation and cheminformatics tools to drive oral peptide programs at J&J. As the CADD project leader for multiple oral peptide programs at J&J he demonstrated the power of these tools by rapidly engineering exquisite affinity and optimal phys-chem properties that later enabled successful clinical development of the programs. Dr. Somani also played a leading role in external innovation at J&J and helped identify emerging peptide therapeutics technologies spanning screening, computational design and formulation.
Dr. Somani earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from University of Maryland College Park, and has authored publications and patents in biomolecular simulation methodology, protein and peptide-based drug design, vaccine antigen engineering and late-stage drug development technologies.
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Jerry Wang, Ph.D.
Head of Biology
Dr. Jerry Wang is the Head of Biology at Pinnacle Medicines, leading the company’s target identification, early discovery, and preclinical research. He brings more than 15 years of experience in immunology research and drug discovery, spanning global pharma and biotech leadership roles.
Prior to joining Pinnacle, Dr. Wang was the Chief Scientific Officer of I-Mab, where he oversaw the discovery and early development of more than ten biologics programs, including multiple first-in-class and best-in-class candidates. Under his scientific leadership, I-Mab advanced a diversified pipeline from concept to clinical development and established multiple global R&D collaborations.
Dr. Wang started his industrial career at GlaxoSmithKline, conducting small molecule drug discovery and contributing to the development of novel therapeutic approaches in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Dr. Wang has been recognized globally for his scientific leadership, including being named to Business Insider’s “Global 30 Under 40 Leaders Transforming Healthcare.”
He holds a Ph.D. in cellular immunology from Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) and has authored numerous publications and patents in basic immunology and translational research as well as novel biologics discovery.
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Jonathan Wang
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Jonathan Wang is the Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Medicines. He brings more than 15 years of leadership experience across biopharmaceutical company building, business development, and healthcare financing.
Prior to Pinnacle Medicines, Mr. Wang served as Chief Business Officer of Zai Lab, joining the company in 2014 during its early formation. In this role, he played a central part in shaping Zai Lab’s product portfolio and corporate strategy, and contributed to its growth through multiple rounds of private and public financing. His leadership spanned business development, strategic partnerships, and portfolio expansion across oncology, immunology, neuroscience and infectious diseases.
Before Zai Lab, Mr. Wang was an investment professional at OrbiMed. He also worked at the Boston Consulting Group and Goldman Sachs.
Mr. Wang holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Board of Directors
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David Wang, M.D., Ph.D.
Director
David Wang is a Partner and Senior Managing Director on the Asia team, focused on Greater China. He joined OrbiMed in 2011. Previously, he was a Managing Director at WI Harper Group, responsible for healthcare investments in China. He also previously served as Head of Business Development at Siemens Medical Solutions, where he directed corporate strategy and new businesses in molecular diagnostics and diagnostic imaging. David was a co-founder and EVP at First Genetic Trust, a personalized medicine company. During his tenure at Bristol-Myers Squibb, David was Chairman of The SNP Consortium Management Committee, the first group of its kind formed by pharmaceutical and technology industries to support the development of personalized medicine. He received his M.D. from Peking University Medical School, and his doctorate in Developmental Biology from California Institute of Technology.
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Diyong Xu
Director
Diyong Xu is a Partner at OrbiMed in New York, where he focuses on venture capital investments in biotech, medtech, and diagnostics companies. Prior to joining OrbiMed, Diyong worked as an investment banker in the healthcare group at Lazard, concentrating on M&A, financings, and strategic advisory projects. Diyong holds an M.S. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University and an M.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Dartmouth College. He earned his B.S. in Biology from Zhejiang University in China.
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Kan Chen, Ph.D.
Director
Kan Chen, Ph.D. is a partner and co-lead of healthcare at Qiming Venture Partners, leading its biotech practice. His portfolio includes Structure Therapeutics (NASDAQ: GPCR), Abbisko (HKEX:02256), LaNova Medicine (acquired by Sinopharma), VOR biopharma (NASDAQ: VOR), Insilico Medicine, Medilink, Candid Tx, etc. Before joining Qiming in 2016, he served as a senior scientist at JNJ. Before that, he was a group leader at Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine.
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Jonathan Wang
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Jonathan Wang is the Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Medicines. He brings more than 15 years of leadership experience across biopharmaceutical company building, business development, and healthcare financing.
Prior to Pinnacle Medicines, Mr. Wang served as Chief Business Officer of Zai Lab, joining the company in 2014 during its early formation. In this role, he played a central part in shaping Zai Lab’s product portfolio and corporate strategy, and contributed to its growth through multiple rounds of private and public financing. His leadership spanned business development, strategic partnerships, and portfolio expansion across oncology, immunology, neuroscience and infectious diseases.
Before Zai Lab, Mr. Wang was an investment professional at OrbiMed. He also worked at the Boston Consulting Group and Goldman Sachs.
Mr. Wang holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
INVESTORS

Pinnacle Medicines is supported by founding investors OrbiMed and Qiming Venture Partners, leading global investors in healthcare and biotechnology.

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