# Yang Liu

> Yang Liu is a cancer immunologist turned serial biotech founder who chairs and runs OncoC4, the Rockville, Maryland company developing next-generation immune checkpoint antibodies. After decades as an endowed professor at NYU, Ohio State, Michigan, and beyond, he co-founded OncoImmune (acquired by Merck for $425M) and then OncoC4, whose lead anti-CTLA-4 antibody gotistobart is in late-stage development with BioNTech. He left full-time academia to take his own discoveries from the bench into patients.

- **Role:** Chairman, CEO and CSO at OncoC4, Inc.
- **Organizations:** OncoC4, Inc., OncoImmune, Inc., University of Maryland School of Medicine, Institute of Human Virology
- **From:** China
- **Nationality:** American (born in China)
- **Education:** BS, Wuhan University, MSc, Peking Union Medical College / Chinese Academy of Medical Science, PhD, Australian National University, Postdoctoral fellowship (with Charles Janeway), Yale University School of Medicine
- **Known for:** Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2004, First to identify a major CTLA-4 ligand (CD86), Identified the CD24-Siglec-10 innate immune checkpoint

## Career timeline

- **1992** — Began independent academic career at New York University Medical Center; received tenure in 1996
- **1998** — Kurtz Chair Professor and Director, Division of Cancer Immunology, Ohio State University
- **2006** — De Nancrede Professor and immunotherapy director, University of Michigan
- **2012** — Bosworth Professor, Children's National Medical Center
- **2000** — Co-founded OncoImmune, Inc. with Pan Zheng
- **2018** — Professor and division director, University of Maryland School of Medicine / Institute of Human Virology
- **2020** — OncoImmune acquired by Merck for $425M; co-founded OncoC4 in December with Merck's $50M investment
- **2023** — Struck strategic collaboration with BioNTech to co-develop ONC-392 (gotistobart); $200M upfront
- **2024** — OncoC4 merged with AcroImmune; advanced gotistobart into pivotal Phase 3 in NSCLC
- **2025** — Closed nearly $50M Series B; advanced PD-1/VEGF bispecific AI-081 and ONC-841 programs

## Achievements

- Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2004
- First to identify a major CTLA-4 ligand (CD86)
- Identified the CD24-Siglec-10 innate immune checkpoint
- Pioneered human gene knock-in mouse models for immunotherapy testing
- Published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles; filed dozens of patents
- Co-founded OncoImmune, acquired by Merck for $425M
- Markey Scholar Award (1992), Searle/Sears Scholar Award (1993), Snyder Award for Cancer Research (2015), Irvington Fellow (1990)

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — OncoC4 closed nearly $50 million in Series B financing to advance multiple pipeline candidates
- **2024-09** — OncoC4 announced merger with AcroImmune

## Links

- Website: https://oncoc4.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yang-liu-47a434a3/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/yang-liu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-04