Our Team

OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM

Jonathan Chen

Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder

Jonathan, Co-founder and CEO of Ascendant Biotech, has invested in over 50 companies and founded 8. Jonathan is a serial entrepreneur and investor in Silicon Valley and has successfully established new businesses in Thailand, Japan and USA. As co-lead of the $100M Energy Practice for Gemini Management Consulting, he was the Partner responsible for marketing strategy globally. As founder and co-lead of the eVentures Practice at C-Change, he was instrumental in developing the internet strategies for Fortune 50 companies in the US. He graduated from Stanford University (AB) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (SM).

Jane Chang, M.D.

Director & Co-Founder

Dr. Chang, Cofounder (former Chief Medical Officer) and Director of Ascendant Biotech. She is a founder and director of 2 Silicon Valley medical startups with over 10 years of experience in the medical startup sector, and 15 years serving local and international communities via medical, science, and education nonprofits. Dr. Chang founded Ascendant Biotech Corporation in 2018 to help bring an urgently-needed HSV therapeutic vaccine to market, and subsequently expanded its platform to include cell and gene therapy for Cancer and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Chang qualifies new technology candidates from global institutions and pioneering biotech startups for inclusion on ABC’s portfolio. Before ABC, she founded Milo’s Academy Inc., an edtech company revolutionizing science and medicine education by making it intuitive and accessible. Dr. Chang received her MD from USF and BA (with Honors) from UC Berkeley. She attended Daejeon Science High School, one of the top high schools for gifted students in Korea.

Christopher Bagguley

Interim CFO

Christopher served in several high-profile financial leadership roles for public corporations including as Chief Financial Officer of PAE Thailand and as Finance Director for Thailand/Vietnam at Bristol-Myers Squibb among other roles. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and is also a member of the Thai-Australian Institute of Directors. Prior to coming to Asia, he worked as a Senior Accountant for Deloitte and later as Senior Internal Auditor for Bristol-Myers Squibb in the United States. Mr.Bagguley graduated Cum Laude with Honors from the University of Tampa and is originally from the United Kingdom.

Tatchai Ruanpang​

Head of Regulatory Affairs​

Tatchai Ruanpang is a pharmacist with over a decade of experience in pharmaceutical industry in Thailand. At ABC, Tatchai manages regulatory submissions to Thai FDA and collaborates with partner companies to ensure that projects are carried out in a timely and proper manner. He used to serve as a drug information pharmacist in quaternary care hospital in Chiang Mai. He was also selected to join a research team of Thailand MOPH-U.S. CDC Collaboration as a research pharmacist for HIV clinical trials where he acquired first-hand experience in conducting international clinical trials. Tatchai graduated from Chiang Mai University with a BPharm degree.

Xichi Wang, MD, PhD

Research Scientist

Xichi Wang, MD, PhD, Research Scientist at Ascendant Biotech, is dedicated to developing innovative gene therapies targeting infectious diseases. Previously, Xichi researched nano-biomaterials, stem cell-based regenerative medicine, and gene editing technologies for biomedical applications. His experience as a surgeon enables him to identify critical bedside issues, and his expertise in multidisciplinary biotechnology helps address these life-threatening problems. By developing cutting-edge gene editing tools, he aims to provide better protection against widespread viral infections. He is passionate about the belief that good science should be translated into practice. Xichi completed his medical doctorate and clinical service at Tongji Medical School, Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China, and completed his joint doctoral training in bioengineering and post-doctoral studies at Harvard Medical School.

Jittaporn Wattanaseree, Ph.D.

Advisor (Vaccines and Regulatory Affairs)​

Dr. Jittaporn is a widely respected expert and academic in Thailand and serves as our strategic advisor for the Thai regulatory authority process and the Thai CMO search. She is fervently committed to advancing the state of biotech in Thailand, and we are grateful for her voluntary assistance. Having worked in the fields of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical technologies since 1990, She has extensive experience throughout all stages of vaccine development, starting from research to commercialization. Over the years, she lectured, trained, coordinated and managed numerous institutions, initiatives, national research facilities and pilot plants, both locally and overseas. She graduated from Mahidol University (BSc and MSc) and Yale University (PhD).

Oranee T Daniels MD, MSc, ABCP

Clinical Development Advisor

Oranee is a physician scientist, a seasoned clinical product development executive with more than 25 years of industry experience. Her previous roles include: Chief Medical Officer at Antiva Biosciences (US), Head of Clinical Pharmacology and Experimental Medicine at Theravance (THRX) and clinical development roles at Amgen (AMGN) and Eli Lilly (LLY), Currently she serves as a clinical development advisor, interim Chief Medical Officer for pharmaceutical and biotech companies and as a Board Member of Lotus Pharmaceuticals (https://www.lotuspharm.com/).

Her expertise in early global drug development has positioned her uniquely to support early clinical stage companies to achieve proof of concept and potential exits. In addition to her career in industry, Oranee maintains relationships and provides consultation for the Thai medical community in both public and private sectors.

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