Yaping Shou, M.D., Ph.D., is the Founder and CEO of Wells Therapeutics, Inc. and a Senior Advisor at Lilly Asia Ventures (LAV).

Yaping brings over 20 years of global clinical development experience across large pharma (GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Takeda) and biotech (Trillium). She served as Chief Medical Officer at Trillium Therapeutics and previously as Executive Medical Director at Takeda. She played a pivotal role in the development and approval of multiple oncology drugs—including lapatinib, pazopanib, nilotinib, sonidegib, and ixazomib—and drove the clinical progress at Trillium that underpinned Pfizer’s $2.3B acquisition in 2021.

In her current role at LAV, Yaping leverages her development expertise to shape investment strategy and support portfolio companies in driving clinical, financial, and organizational success. She founded Wells Therapeutics Inc. in June 2022 with the goal to accelerate globalization of regionally sourced therapeutics for the benefit of patients worldwide.

Yaping earned her MD from Zhejiang University and a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Drexel University, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the NCI’s Genetics Branch. She has also completed executive leadership training at Oxford’s Saïd Business School, MIT Sloan, and WOMEN Unlimited’s 12-month program for high-potential women leaders.