Yusheng Xiong, PhD

Dr. Yusheng Xiong is a top medicinal chemist with over 20 years of drug discovery experience at Merck, Sharp & Dohme (MSD). As the Director of Medicinal Chemistry, he spearheaded the innovative oral cyclic peptide PCSK9 program (MK-0616/enlicitide decanoate), which has shown superior LDL-c reduction in humans and approved by the FDA. During his tenure at the Merck Research Laboratories in New Jersey, Yusheng led various discovery programs in metabolic, cardiovascular, and other therapeutic fields, advancing many candidates to the clinical stage.

Yusheng earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Wuhan University and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from UCLA funded by the US-China CGP program, followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago.