Ask the Experts Interview Series

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Tianke Wang

Dr. Tianke Wang joined the pharmaceutical industry in 2008. He worked in drug discovery and development for about 10 years at Novartis and held different roles such as Investigator, Outsourcing manager and Immunoassay platform lead. As a core member of clinical teams, he participated in a number of clinical trials including several products which are now on the market and led the collaboration with a number of leading CROs.   

He and his partners co-founded Dao Tun GmbH, a Swiss advisory consulting company dedicated to cross-border cooperation between Europe and China with a focus on Healthcare and Life sciences.

Tianke also serves as a Director at Xinrui Business School’s Department of Education and Training, and led the cooperation with University of Zurich for Master in Advanced Study – European and Chinese Business Management program. Tianke is a Partner/ Director of the Europe Office of the Beijing based IP law firm IPSunny as well.

In addition to his rich professional experience in team building, management, training and coaching in a global and cross-cultural environment, Tianke had held responsibilities in social communities and intercultural interactions for many years as Executive Committee member of the Chinese Association of Science & Technology in Switzerland and as Executive member of the Novartis Asia Business Club. 

Tianke obtained a PhD in Biochemistry at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research/University of Basel.

Ask the Experts Interview Series

with Tianke Wang

Tell us more about Dao Tun, why did you decide to found it and what does the name mean?

Dao Tun is a Swiss advisory consulting company, based in the Basel region, founded in 2019 and specialised in cross-border cooperation between Europe and China, primarily in the Healthcare and Life Science industry. 

The reasons I decided to found Dao Tun were the following:

  • My personality is one of a bridge builder, a connector and an enabler. I have always taken great pride in bringing people together who might not have met otherwise and who are now able to  create more value together.
  • I saw both the need and opportunities for cooperation between Europe and China. 
  • Hesitance and frustration of a lot of entrepreneurs who would like to expand their business from here to China or from China to Europe tell me that there are pain points and someone has to do something to support the entrepreneurs to grow their business which ultimately will help patients.
  • I also saw a lack of experts and enablers with both the cultural background and the industrial experience to bridge the two geographies.
  • Having grown up, completed my training until Master studies, briefly worked in China, obtained a PhD degree, living in Basel/Switzerland for more than 20 years, and having worked in Novartis for about 10 years in outsourcing management for translational medicine, I believe that I am the ideal “go-to person” for SMEs and entrepreneurs who would like to expand their success from here to China and from China to Europe.

What’s in the name “Dao Tun”?

“Dao” is taken from Chinese philosophy – “Daoism” (Taoism). “Tun” is taken from German and means “Do”. “Dao” provides the knowledge and the guidance about the “Why” and “Tun” translates these insights into action, the “How”. Combining knowledge and action together, Dao Tun connects people with common values and goals for European-Sino cooperations.

What are some of the challenges for European companies to enter China and for Chinese companies to enter Europe?

Landing on another continent is full of challenges: just imagine the journey of the Portuguese navigators during the great time of navigation in the  16th century. But the reward is also very significant. 

Today’s challenges in the business world are there, but at least you do not need to risk your life like the navigators during the 16th century.

We have identified the following key challenges:

  • Lack of knowledge and understanding of how business is conducted in a different culture and system
  • Difficulties in finding a trustworthy and reliable business partner
  • Misunderstandings and inefficient communication across cultures 

What is your advice to companies looking to enter the Chinese market?

  • Start to think of a strategy and a plan for your entry into the Chinese market as early as possible.
  • Travel there whenever possible and talk to friends and experts who know more about China and who have experience with the Chinese market. 
  • Find a pathfinder/companion guide to support you during your entrepreneurial journey.

In my experience the most important strategy for success is to establish a solid and trustful relationship with an advisor who has a profound knowledge of the industry, and not only understands both the Western and the Chinese business cultures and their value systems, but helps you in concrete ways to successfully navigate the complexities you will encounter.

These are crucial factors to shape your strategy and to develop mutually beneficial partnerships for a long- term success in the other geography.

What drives you?

Making meaningful and valuable things happen, bringing positive impact to people around me with my expertise, experience, enthusiasm, cultural intelligence and my personality, in both the business world and in private life.

Can you share a snapshot of how your career has evolved over the years?

After completion of  my bachelor and master studies in microbiology at the  China Agricultural University in Beijing/ China, I was hired by the university as a teaching and research assistant in the area of antibiotic fermentation. 

After that I wanted  to learn more about how the pharmaceutical industry developed in the Western countries. A PhD program at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (part of the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical research, NIBR) brought me to Basel/Switzerland in 2002. 

After my PhD graduation at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, I joined Novartis here in Basel. My first job was screening siRNA drugs in 2008 when many large pharmaceutical companies were interested in the siRNA field. One year later when Novartis closed down that group, I transitioned to the Biomarker Development group in the Department of Translational medicine. I worked in the Outsourcing Management Group supporting clinical studies. My last role was being  Platform Lead of Outsourcing and Monitoring for the immunoassay biomarker technology.

I founded Dao GmbH in 2019 with my cofounder and started the journey to advise on cooperation between Europe and China. 

Apart from general consulting, I also held mandates at NBE Therapeutics as Director of Strategic Transactions Asia/Pacific and at Xinrui Business School as Director of Education and Training. I am also a Partner and Director of the Europe office of IPSunny, an IP firm headquarted in Beijing.

With what we have experienced and observed, we see a  very promising future for the cooperation between Europe and China. I will continue to contribute and add my value to enable successes of clients and partners.

What has been some highlights in your career?

Looking back at my journey I would like to share some of the following highlight moments:

The Outsoucing group I had worked in at Novartis grew from 2 to about 30 people during my time there. Starting out as a pure supporting function it developed into a very important function for the Translational Medicine Department for Clinical studies. I had been involved in building up the team (including creating new roles and training new team members), setting up the tools, establishing processes, leading a technical platform, cross-divisional alignment for outsourcing practice and so on. When I left there, I felt quite proud of what I had achieved together with my colleagues and of the legacy of my contributions to the organisation. 

Founding Dao Tun is  a highlight of my career. That’s where the very challenging and highly interesting journey started. Since then I started to meet very inspiring people and to worki on very exciting projects. I started to feel more directly the positive impact I wanted to bring to people and the positive impact I received from the people as well. I will never regret the decision to found Dao Tun.

Within the 3 years since the founding, we have established a broad network of investors, entrepreneurs and industry experts in China and Europe. We have gained very reputable clients and partners and have successfully advised clients for fundraising, licensing, acquisition and research collaborations. And despite the difficult period of the pandemic we managed to advise on a 92 million USD licensing deal.

What is your view on failure?

Failure is something we simply have to go through before achieving success.  I like the saying “ we don’t fail. We either succeed or we learn”. Even what seemed to look like a failure at first, might lead to an even greater success going forward, and a challenge can become a great source of inspiration. So, failure is nothing to be afraid of, but rather appreciated for its value towards learning and growth.

What are some lessons learned?

Before founding Dao Tun, I was involved in two other startups. The key lesson I learned is that  finding the right partner is very important. I am lucky that I have the right partners now. This is true for any kind of partnership as well.

Another lesson I would like to share is that common sense is not so common. As a counter party in a cooperation, especially during negotiation, one should make as little assumptions as possible and ensure sufficient clarification and communication as early as possible. Therefore, I take great care about this and spend a lot of time communicating with clients and partners. 

Any last words to share with our readers?

Please feel free to talk to me about whatever questions you may have about China. I will try my best to answer you or find the right person who can provide you with an answer. We may or may not find common ground for a business relationship, but for sure we will have had a great conversation together or become new friends. Thank you.

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