Driven by the idea that “the 21st century is the century of biology,” Dr Sun Xin majored in biology and embarked on an academic path focused on the life sciences, before shifting from a promising and secure academic career to one in which he could directly impact the lives of patients.

Xin earned a PhD from Zhejiang University supported by academic and post-doctoral studies in the US. His drive to apply research to benefit patients made him an “unconventional thinker” in the lab. International studies deepened his drive to make a tangible impact beyond academia. This desire deepened during his time as a visiting scholar at Rutgers University in the U.S. from 2007 to 2009 when he collaborated with a mentor and clinical physician who brought a “semi-basic, semi-translational” model to their joint work.

“Unlike experiments with animal models, which can be repeated, for human patients, we must ensure reliability from the very start,” Xin says.

Later, during postdoctoral work at Johns Hopkins University from 2011 to 2015, Xin worked with industry partners and conducted research using real-world patient datasets. This exposure opened his perspectives on how to solve healthcare challenges from an industrial, product-oriented standpoint.

It was around this time that Xin, at a crossroads in his career, made a controversial choice to give up the status and security of his position as an assistant professor to join a biotechnology company and work on drugs with the potential to directly benefit patients.

Xin was drawn to Jacobio, aware that founder Dr Wang Yinxiang had made history as the driving force behind China’s first innovative drug, icotinib hydrochloride, a treatment for non-small cell lung cancer. He was attracted by Jacobio’s proven ability to pioneer cutting-edge science and use it to help patients.

He joined Jacobio in 2018 and hit the ground running, working on the SHP2 inhibitor JAB-3312 and other preclinical programs.

“In drug development, many projects stagnate preclinically when molecules don’t work or issues emerge,” he says. “This is quite common across the industry and demands perseverance through trial and error to find success after each setback.”