Company

strategy

Baylink Biosciences is focused on developing innovative antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for cancer treatment.

Lead therapeutic innovation by targeting high-impact areas of unmet medical need, delivering first-in-class or best-in-class ADCs.

Drive innovation in linker payload development to expand therapeutic capabilities and improve clinical outcomes.

Baylink Biosciences is headquartered in Palo Alto, California and was formed as a US-based innovation center by its parent company. Baylink will be spun-out as an independent company in 2025.

The scientists at Baylink have invented new technologies that promise to revolutionize the field of Antibody Drug Conjugates. The team created a panel of linkers and innovative payloads with potential to overcome the contemporary challenges facing drug developers in the antibody drug conjugate field.

Key Team Members

Ph.D., Co-founder & CSO of Baylink

Alice Chen

Dr. Alice Chen has over 25 years of experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. She brings extensive experience in technology innovation, biologics and small molecule drug discovery, MOA research, as well as translational science expertise to Baylink. She held scientific and leadership roles at Novartis, NGM Biopharmaceuticals, 23andMe, and Asieris Pharmaceuticals where she contributed to the development of numerous drugs targeting oncology, metabolic disease, and autoimmune diseases. Prior to joining Baylink, she was SVP of Biology and Head of Translational Research at Asieris Pharmaceuticals. She received her Ph.D. in Neurosciences from Stanford University, and BS in Biology from Caltech.

M.D., Ph.D., Co-founder & VP of Research

David Yi

Dr. David Yi is an accomplished immunologist with over 20 years of experience in basic and translational research, specialized in biologics drug development.

As a co-founder of Baylink, he plays a crucial role in fostering startup growth and strategic innovation.

His experience in biotech include leadership and scientific roles at NGM Biopharmaceuticals, AbbVie, 23andMe, and Staidson Biopharma, where he focused on biologics development for oncology and autoimmune indications.

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Darren Buchwald

Darren Buchwald joined Baylink in 2024, bringing 30 years of biopharma experience across product development, commercialization, business development, and strategy.

He has held leadership roles at Forest Labs, Human Genome Sciences, Clinical Data, Emergent, and Amyris, where he developed a strong track record in company-building, product portfolio expansion, acquisitions, licensing, and strategic partnerships.

During his career, Darren has been involved with more than 12 programs that have transitioned from research to clinical development, and five FDA approvals. His therapeutic area experience includes autoimmune disease, CNS/Pain, infectious disease, and oncology.

Ph.D., Head of Chemistry

Wen Zhang

Dr. Zhang joined Baylink in 2023, bringing over 30 years of experience in medicinal chemistry, with a deep specialization in linker design.

He had a long career at Nektar Therapeutics spanning two decades. Prior to joining Baylink, Wen was VP of Medicinal Chemistry at CSPC Dophen.

His extensive research has resulted in over 20 patents, and he has successfully advanced more than five drug candidates into clinical trials including 1 approved drug. Dr. Zhang held Ph.D. in Chemistry from Peking University in China.

M.D, Ph.D., Clinical Advisor

Patrick Zweidler-McKay

An experienced clinical oncology biotech leader with broad experience in the full range of ADC discovery through clinical development at ImmunoGen and AbbVie. With successful programs in both heme and solid tumor oncology, he brings a wealth of knowledge to help support our pipeline of ADCs, providing evaluation of developing pipeline programs, strategic clinical and regulatory guidance, and investigator engagement to enable IND submission and expedient clinical trial execution.