Zai Lab Limited

Zai Lab Limited

Zai Lab was founded in 2014 by Dr. Samantha Du, a former executive at Pfizer and AstraZeneca. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Shanghai, with additional offices across China and the US. It operates as a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on addressing unmet medical needs in oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and infectious disease. The company's strategy combines in-licensed assets from global partners with internal drug discovery. Its pipeline includes zocilurtatug pelitecan, a DLL3-targeted ADC in clinical trials for small cell lung cancer, and preclinical programs such as ZL-1503 for atopic dermatitis and ZL-6201 for solid tumors. Zai Lab's eight marketed products in China cover oncology and infectious disease (per the firm, 2025). Geographically, the firm operates across Greater China, the United States, and Europe. Zai Lab maintains internal R&D centers, small-molecule and large-molecule manufacturing facilities, and a commercial organization across China. The company also operates a regulatory affairs group and clinical development team. It has not disclosed total number of employees or professionals. The structural differentiator is Zai Lab's dual-headquarters model combining US-based discovery with China-based clinical and commercial infrastructure. This hybrid architecture allows the firm to in-license Western assets and accelerate them through China's regulatory pathway while also developing internal programs for global markets. The company is publicly traded and reports financials, distinguishing it from private biotechs.