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Cristian Massacesi: Exciting science and meaningful conversations fuel optimism for cancer progress in China

Cristian Massacesi/LinkedIn

Apr 10, 2025, 15:21

Cristian Massacesi: Exciting science and meaningful conversations fuel optimism for cancer progress in China

Cristian Massacesi, Chief Medical Officer and Oncology Chief Development Officer at AstraZeneca, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Recently, I had the opportunity to join many of my colleagues in China to discuss a variety of topics that are going to be critical as we continue to work toward achieving our ambitious 2030 goals.

Over the past several years, we have made tremendous strides in a variety of cancer settings, and the global collaborations we have in place across R&D position us to continue accelerating research for a global community.

A key topic discussed throughout my time in China was in an area of specific opportunity – cell therapy, where we are actively building a leading platform of innovation across heamatology and immunology and solid tumours.

Our work in cell therapy in China began back in 2023 with the announcement of our acquisition of Gracell, and we are continuing to invest to improve accessibility and scalability of our cell therapy pipeline.

At AstraZeneca, we are aiming to transform cancer care, and accomplishing this will require the efforts of a truly global network of dedicated experts.

I would like to thank my AstraZeneca colleagues Susan Galbraith, Puja Sapra, Mark Cobbold, Matt Hellmann and Jorge Reis-Filho for the conversations and connections made while together in China. I would also like to thank Jing He for welcoming us and coordinating the events and activities during our visit.

I also would like to give a heartfelt thank you to some of the leading scientific minds in China who took the time to visit and speak with us about their ongoing work throughout the country, including Prof Yilong Wu from Guangdong Provincial Hospital, Prof Xin Lin from Tsinghua University, Prof Shen Lin from Beijing Cancer Hospital and Prof Zeng Xiaofeng from Peking Union Medical College Hospital.

There is a lot of exciting science taking place in the region, and it makes me ever more optimistic of our overarching goal to one day eliminate cancer as a cause of death.”

Cristian Massacesi: Exciting science and meaningful conversations fuel optimism for cancer progress in China