Dr. Yongchang Qiu is the Founder and CEO of Lysoway Therapeutics, where he leads the development of first-in-class lysosomal ion-channel therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD), as well as rare lysosomal disorders. With more than 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical R&D, translational science, and venture-backed company creation, Dr. Qiu has a distinguished track record of advancing innovative therapies from discovery through clinical development.

Before founding Lysoway in 2020, Dr. Qiu served as Vice President of Preclinical Development at Cydan, a rare-disease venture accelerator, where he helped launch multiple biotechnology startups and advance several programs into the clinic. Prior to Cydan, he was Head of Drug Translational Sciences at Tesaro and Senior Director & Global Head of Bioanalysis and Biomarker Development at Shire, leading a global team of more than 40 scientists supporting over 70 development programs spanning small molecules, biologics, and gene therapies. Earlier in his career, Dr. Qiu held scientific leadership roles at Genzyme and Wyeth, contributing to numerous successful IND and BLA/NDA submissions.

Dr. Qiu earned his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), a Master’s degree in Organic Chemistry from New York University, and his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Science and Technology of China. He has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and is the inventor on over a dozen patents across multiple therapeutic areas.