Dr. Li is a founder, Chairman, and CEO of WuXi AppTec Co., Ltd. He earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Beijing University in 1989 and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Columbia University, New York, in 1993. Dr. Li was one of the founding scientists of Pharmacopeia, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCOP) in Princeton, New Jersey, a leading combinatorial chemistry company at the time, where he held various scientific and management leadership roles. During his tenure at Pharmacopeia, he successfully co-developed three compounds under clinical evaluation.
In 2000, Dr. Li returned to Shanghai to found WuXi PharmaTech, serving as CEO since its inception. Under his leadership, the company grew from a small start-up to a global, NYSE-listed enterprise. Dr. Li’s accomplishments have earned him numerous prestigious awards, including recognition as one of the 60 Most Influential People during 60 Years of Pharmaceutical Development in China, the Most Innovative Leader of Chinese Enterprises in 2008 (alongside WuXi AppTec as the Most Innovative Company in China), the 2007 China Top 10 Influential Entrepreneurs, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year China Award in 2007, and the 2006 China Top Ten Talents (Science & Technology) Award.
In 2005, Dr. Li was featured on the cover of Red Herring magazine’s August 1st issue and received the Distinguished Entrepreneur Award from the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, which he accepted at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on September 29, 2005.