After scoring near-perfect marks on China’s rigorous college entrance exam, he went to university and eventually earned his doctorate in chemistry. Following graduation, he came to the United States to pursue post-doctorate studies at Cornell University and then began a career in drug research and development. His specialty was creating antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), a promising type of therapeutic that targets and kills cancer cells without harming healthy cells.
In 2012, his work in oncology suddenly became personal: His father back in China was diagnosed with lung cancer. At the time, Zhao was living and working in San Francisco. But he was determined to help his father get the treatment he needed, even if he had to make it himself.
Zhao quit his job, sold his house and bought equipment from a San Francisco-area lab that was going out of business. He then moved to Hangzhou, China, where his father lived, to launch his own drug development company.
Less than a year after Zhao received approval from China to manufacture the ADC cancer treatment his father desperately needed, his father passed away. But his company, Hangzhou DAC Biotechnology, of which Zhao is founder, CEO and chairman, continues to help others by developing new ADC therapies.
In 2022, Hangzhou DAC Biotechnology entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Johnson & Johnson to accelerate the development of more ADC therapies. The collaboration came about thanks to the external innovation arm of Johnson & Johnson, which aims to find solutions for healthcare challenges and improve the lives of patients around the world by connecting science, technology and entrepreneurs to resources, tools and expertise. Collaborating with partners like Johnson & Johnson has helped Hangzhou DAC produce 500 patents for ADCs and get eight drugs into clinical trials.
Read on as Zhao explains why his career in drug development feels so meaningful, how he balances work and family life between two continents and his advice for anyone pursuing a career in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
Q:
Did a particular person early in your life inspire you to go into your field of study?
A:
My father did. He was an electrical engineer in the second half of his life, but he had been a college teacher when he was young. He pushed me, my brother and my sister very hard to compete academically and go to college.
I’d also say my high school chemistry teacher. I always loved chemistry very much. My chemistry score on China’s competitive pre-college exam was very good—98.5 out of 100. My teacher told me, “You have to study chemistry!” So that’s what I did.
Q:
Were you able to develop a treatment for your father’s cancer?
A:
Yes, but sadly the treatment only helped him in late-stage cancer for several months and then he passed. It took me some time from making the decision to come back to China, to found my own company and finally get approval to make the treatments locally.
I’m motivated by the chance to save lives. In hospitals I see so many patients waiting in long lines in the corridors—sometimes they’ve been there for days. Many times, they do not have a chance to meet the doctors because there are so many people.
Q:
What’s a typical workday for you?
A:
I’m a straightforward person. I get up around 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. on weekdays. I come into my office by 8:30 a.m. All day, so many people come to my office to have meetings—so many meetings! I don’t leave until around 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. because sometimes I have meetings with people in the U.S. or in Europe.
Once I’ve finished my work, I open several science journals to see any new articles published. I also read patents. Seeing other patents inspires me to figure out how to use a different chemical structure, to see if something could work better.
Q:
What part of your work do you enjoy most?
A:
Checking in on our clinical trials. Almost every month, I go to the hospital for a couple of days and talk to the principal investigators who run the trials. I let them know about our new types of drugs and talk over patient enrollment. The trials help us see how a drug works and how the result compares to a similar compound. That allows us to learn so that we can make our next generation of compounds even better.
Q:
How does Johnson & Johnson play a role in your company?
A:
My company learns a lot from Johnson & Johnson, and we collaborate very well. Our Johnson & Johnson colleagues have a lot of experience and good advice, especially for the younger employees who just graduated college and can benefit from experience. These interactions help them learn in a much faster way.
Q:
How do you spend a day off?
A:
Many people at my company work during the weekend, because some of the manufacturing cannot stop. So if some coworkers have to work during the weekend, I’ll work, too.
I’ll also spend time with my family when I travel to the U.S. for meetings three times a year, and when they come to China to visit. My wife and kids live in the Boston area. My daughter just finished college and my son will go to college this year. My wife may move to China after he finishes school. When we see each other we like to go shopping or cook together.
Q:
What continues to motivate your dedication to your work?
A:
The chance to save lives. In hospitals I see so many patients waiting in long lines in the corridors—sometimes they’ve been there for days. Many times, they do not have a chance to meet the doctors because there are so many people.
Q:
If someone is just starting out in in the STEM field, what advice would you have?
A:
Know your science very well. If you cannot do something uniquely, you may not have a chance to survive in this field because you may not be able to compete. Of course, you also have to make something better. People need to benefit from your science and technology.
