Mao Huihua

Early life

Not a lot is known publicly about Mao Huihua’s birth and early life or family. She is 57 years old and has dedicated her life to pharmaceutical and biologics research and development, technology transfer, quality, and regulatory compliance in the field of vaccines.


Dr. Mao obtained her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Chinese Academy of Sciences and then was trained as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Industrial Biotechnology Center of the University of Waterloo.


She received her MBA degree from Villanova University. In 2010, Dr. Mao was elected as one of the Tianjin “1000-Talents” and Distinguished Experts. She has also been appointed Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Pharmacy at Tianjin University of Science & Technology.

Career

Helen Huihua Mao is the SVP and Deputy General Manager at CanSinoBIO., in this role since 2009. She oversees international regulatory affairs. Prior to this, she served as SVP of quality operations and head of quality and established quality management systems that comply with CFDA, WHO, USFDA, and EU GMP regulations for vaccine R&D, clinical trial materials manufacturing, and commercialization.


With over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biologics industry, she has expertise in R&D, technology transfer, quality, and regulatory compliance. Before joining the company, Mao held various positions with increasing responsibilities, including Development Engineer at Albright & Wilson Americas (1990-1999), Facilities and Equipment Qualification Specialist at Apotex (2000-2001), Project Manager and Director of Quality at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (2001-2005), and Director of Quality at Endo Pharmaceuticals (2006-2011).



Over the past two decades, Dr. Mao has held a variety of positions, which included Senior Research Engineer at Albright Wilson Americas Inc., Group Leader of Quality Assurance at Apotex Inc., Director of Quality Compliance at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Director of Quality Assurance at Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. She has extensive expertise in diverse areas such as new drug discovery and development, production scale-up, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, etc.


CanSino Biologics was established in 2009 in Tianjin by Yu Xuefeng, Zhu Tao, Qiu Dongxu, and Helen Mao Huihua. The company filed for a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2018 and went public on March 28, 2019, with a 59% increase on its first day of trading, the biggest first-day gain in Hong Kong since 2017. In 2020, CanSino completed a secondary offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR market, raising 5.2 billion yuan (US$750 million).



CanSino Biologics develops, produces, and sells vaccines in China. Its products include the Ad5-EBOV Ebola virus vaccine, the MCV2 and MCV4 vaccines for preventing N. meningitidis, and the DTcP vaccine and DTcP Booster vaccine for infants, both in Phase I clinical trials to improve protection against pertussis after primary vaccination.


CanSino also develops the Tdcp Adolescent and Adult vaccine for pertussis, the PBPV serotype-independent protein-based pneumococcal vaccine in Phase I clinical trial, the PCV13i pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Phase I clinical trial, the TB Booster for BCG-vaccinated individuals, and the Ad5-nCov recombinant novel coronavirus disease vaccine. The company is also working on several preclinical stage products, including the DTcP-Hib Combo vaccine, CSB012 for adenovirus, CSB013 for ZIKA virus, CSB105 for meningitis, CSB016 for shingles, and CSB107 for polio.


CanSino has a partnership with the National Research Council of Canada for COVID-19 vaccine development and a co-development deal with Precision NanoSystems, Inc. for an mRNA lipid nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccine.


Mao Huihua is one of nine new vaccine billionaires made so by the Covid-19 pandemic. Combined, they have a net worth of $19.3 Billion.

Net Worth

Mao Huihua’s net worth is estimated to be around $1 Billion. She reached billionaire status specifically after the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent vaccines, of which CanSino was a major contributor.

Achievement

Mao Huihua has had numerous achievements in the field of pharmaceuticals, including:

• Serving as senior vice president of quality operations and head of quality at CanSino Biologics, where she established quality management systems to meet regulations for vaccine research and development, clinical trial materials manufacturing, and commercialization.
• Holding various positions with increasing responsibility, including senior research engineer, group leader of quality assurance, director of quality compliance, and director of quality assurance at different pharmaceutical companies.
• Having over 25 years of experience in the field.
• Being elected as one of the Tianjin “1000-Talents” and Distinguished Experts in 2010.
• Being appointed Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Pharmacy at Tianjin University of Science & Technology.
• Having extensive expertise in new drug discovery and development, production scale-up, quality assurance, and regulatory affairs.