Our Company

At BioLingus, we believe we can make life better for many people in the world, not just in rich countries, but across the globe.

BioLingus is an award-winning Swiss biotech company spearheading the development of oral (sublingual) and mucosal delivery of peptides and proteins. Our technology is "inspired by nature" using applied bio-engineering, resulting in novel bio-mimetic materials for drug delivery. Our company focusses on the development of its own products on the treatment of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, obesity and inflammatory diseases.

BioLingus’ main office is in Switzerland, with satellite companies in Hong Kong and Australia.

In terms of diabetes, our lead molecules are an oral "biobetter" of liraglutide and exenatide (GLP-1) in type II diabetes.   In addition to that, we are developing a combination product of insulin+GLP1.

We are also exploring the use of low dose IL-2 for early onset juvenile type I diabetes. Low dose IL-2 in animal models has shown to balance Treg and Teff immune cells to reverse or prevent type I diabetes.  Especially in children, having an oral therapy will make a difference.

A second area of interest is immuno-therapy, since sublingual administration  facilitates  targeting the lymphatic system directly.

We have some good data with IL-2 immunotherapy in arthritis, psoriasis, diabetes type 1, peanut allergy and cancer.   We believe that this effect is due to altering the balance of Tregs.

Sublingual administration can increase efficacy and/or reduce side-effects compared to administration by injection.

Our technology can also stabilize proteins and peptides to prevent degradation and this is for use in third world countries by :
- reducing the need for a cold chain
- preventing the risk of infections due to needle handling (e.g. HIV and HCV).

As such, we can “broaden access” for patients in third world countries, which is an important goal for WHO.

Because of the specific properties of our technology, it is applicable to a broad range of molecules, as shown in the diagram below :

 

BIOLINGUS

History & Latest
- BioLingus’ Sublingual Technology Use Case
- BioLingus’ Advantages
- Road to Obesity and Diabetes Sublingual

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July 2016
Yves Decadt, BioLingus CEO explains the innovative technology that takes injectable medicines and transforms them into pills.
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July 2016
Inspiration from nature is transforming how medicines work - EUROPENCEO Interview with Yves Decadt, CEO, BioLingus.
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Board of Directors

 


Chief Executive Officer and Chairman


Yves Decadt is our co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Decadt has over 25 years of global pharmaceutical experience. Prior and in addition to this role, Mr. Decadt has held multiple senior level mandates such as CEO of Medimetrics (a Philips spin-out developing the first oral digital pill and a pioneer in “smart pharmaceuticals”), CEO of Stragen Pharma (a Swiss pharmaceutical group) and VP Business Development at SkyePharma. Before that, Mr. Decadt worked for 18 years at Johnson and Johnson, in different roles and countries. At Johnson & Johnson, he worked initially in a technical/scientific role and the last 10 years as in the Corporate Licensing & Business Development group, based subsequently in Belgium, USA and Switzerland. Mr. Decadt is also a senior advisor for investments in biotech investment funds and speaker/panel chair at biotech & innovation oriented conferences. One of his mandates was to develop the initial biotech strategy for the new futuristic city NEOM.

Mr. Decadt holds a Master’s Degree in Bio-Engineering, a Master’s Degree in industrial Business Administration (both from the University of Ghent in Belgium, both magna cum laude) and a Master’s Degree in Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Medicine (from the Medical Faculty at the Free University of Brussels). He also followed an executive business leadership program at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland. With BioLingus, he has won multiple awards, amongst others the 2022 “European Biotech company of the Year”, ‘Most Innovative Biotech Company’ from the European CEO Magazine as well as the 2020 ‘Gamechanger Award’ from the ACQ, recognizing organizations and individuals that have achieved outstanding innovative breakthrough. We believe Mr. Decadt’s extensive experience qualifies him to serve as our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman

Technical Advisor


Sai Ying Thomas Ko is our co-founder, Technical Advisor and a director. Mr. Ko is a graduate of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash University, Melbourne, where he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in pharmacy from the Victorian Institute of Colleges of Australia (which became a Monash faculty in 1990) in 1968. Mr. Ko is an internationally renowned specialist in drug formulation and sublingual drug delivery with 40 years of technical and commercial experience. He has specific expertise in the stabilization of peptides/ proteins – including exenatide, liraglutide, interleukin 2 and interferon alpha – as tablet formulations at room temperature and in their non-invasive delivery via the sublingual mucosa. In this way, the technology he has developed over the past few decades avoid having to deliver these peptides/ proteins via injection, which is their standard route of administration.

From 1971 to 2000, Mr. Ko served as the Founder and Managing Director of Vitapharm Pharmaceutical Pty. Ltd. From 2000 to 2005, Mr. Ko served as the Founder, CEO and Chairman of Vital Biotech Holdings Limited, which has successfully listed on the GEM board in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2002. Mr. Ko was also nominated and shortlisted for a 2020 Advance Award, which celebrates international Australians and alumni, who are having an extraordinary impact on the global stage. Mr. Ko was awarded a prestigious Monash University Fellowship in 2020 in recognition of his distinguished service to pharmaceutical industry. We believe Mr. Ko’s extensive experience qualifies him to serve as our Technical Advisor.

Independent Director


Chi Kan Kwok will serve as our Independent Non-Executive Director. Mr. Kwok graduated with a Bachelor of Science in applied accounting degree from Oxford Brookes University in 2006.
Mr. Kwok is a member of Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants since 2008. Mr. Kwok worked in H.T. Wong & Co. Limited, an accounting firm in Hong Kong, from April 2003 to January 2007. From January 2007 to June 2008,
Mr. Kwok worked in Grant Thornton, an international accountants’ firm, as a senior accountant. Mr. Kwok subsequently was with the audit department of Hong Kong PricewaterhouseCoopers during July 2008 to February 2018 and was a senior manager before his departure. Since July 2018,
Mr. Kwok has been the Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary of Kato (Hong Kong) Holdings Limited, a company listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (Stock code: 2189). He is responsible for the accounting and financial planning and management, as well as overall corporate secretarial matters. Since October 2018,
Mr. Kwok is the Assurance Leader of Linksfield CPA Limited, an independent member firm of accountants in Hong Kong. We believe Mr. Kwok’s extensive experience qualifies him to serve as our independent Director.

Independent Director


Keith Hon Kee Lau will serve as our Independent Non-Executive Director. Mr. Lau has more than 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical industry specializing in Corporate Financing, Company Secretarial and Corporate Governance.
Mr. Lau was the Financial Controller and Company Secretary of Shandong Luoxin Pharmaceutical Group Stock Co, Ltd (Stock Code: 8058.HK), from March 2003 to December 2017; Independent Non-Executive Director and Audit Committee Chairman of Strong Petrochemical Holdings Limited (Stock Code: 0852.HK) from November 2008 to December 2011; Joint Company Secretary of Zhejiang Tengy Environmental Technology Co., Ltd. (Stock Code 1527.HK) from November 2014 to January 2018.
Mr. Lau is currently holding as Independent Non-Executive Director and Audit Committee Chairman of Dafeng Port Heshun Technology Company Limited (Stock Code: 8310.HK) and Astrum Financial Holdings Limited (Stock Code: 8333.HK) since May 2016 and June 2016 respectively.
Mr. Lau is also currently the Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary of United Biopharma (Holdings) Co., Ltd, a Taiwan based protein drugs manufacturer. Mr. Lau obtained the Bachelor of Commerce from Australian National University in 1994 and Master of Professional Accounting from Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2009. He is the Fellow Certified Practicing Accountant (“FCPA”) of CPA Australia and Fellow Certified Public Accountant (“FCPA”) of Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. We believe Mr. Lau’s extensive experience qualifies him to serve as our independent Director.

Independent Director


Tuck Seng Low will serve as our Independent Non-Executive Director. Mr. Low is an independent adviser with over 30 years of significant cross-border experience in financial and investment markets, primarily direct investment, real estate, private equity, venture capital, and investment banking (capital markets and corporate finance). Mr. Low began his career in the City of London in 1987 as a research analyst, where he became a leading individual analyst covering smaller companies and emerging industry sectors, and worked at two stockbroking firms.
Mr. Low is an Executive Board Member of the Swiss-Asian Chamber of Commerce where he is also Co-chairman of the Chamber’s Singapore Committee and a Senior Adviser to South Pole in funds and platforms. Low is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and former Mentor and Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, UK. We believe Mr. Low’s extensive experience qualifies him to serve as our independent Director.
Board of Directors Audit Committee Compensation Committee Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Yves Decadt - - -
Sai Ying Thomas Ko - - -
Chi Kan Kwok Chairman Member Member
Keith Hon Kee Lau Member Member Chairman
Tuck Seng Low Member Chairman Member

OUR TEAM

 


Co-founder


Dr. Didier Coquoz (PhD in clinical pharmacology and pharmacist) is a 20+ years seasoned pharma R&D executive (VP R&D and CEO) and serial biotech entrepreneur with experience in North America and Europe. He has been instrumental in the development/regulatory management from drug candidate up to phase III and registration of close to 30 biologics, monoclonal antibodies, peptides, cell-based therapeties, NCEs, of which 4 reached the market world-wide. He also has an extensive network in the financing and pharma industries.

Chief scientist


Ken Pang (MBBS (Hons), BMedSc, FRACP, PhD) is a practising physician scientist and Associate Professor, Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne. Clinically, Ken graduated as the valedictorian of his medical school class at Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia, before completing his specialist training in pediatrics. Scientifically, Ken completed his PhD at the University of Melbourne in immunology and genomics, and subsequently undertook postdoctoral studies as a Fulbright Scholar in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University, where he also completed a Business Development Fellowship within the Office of Technology Development. Ken has published >90 papers and 4 book chapters. His work has been cited more than 14,000 times and have appeared in journals such as Science, Immunity, Genome Research, and Molecular Psychiatry.

Chief Financial Officer


Chun Pong Hui has served as our Chief Financial Officer since January 2023. Prior to joining BioLingus, Mr. Hui served as the director of Citylinkers Group, a professional firm in the areas of corporate finance, funding solutions, financial assurance, tax planning, corporate services and legal advisory services based in Hong Kong since January 2020. From 2013 to 2019, he served in Chiho Environmental Group Limited, one of the largest metal recycler globally listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Mr. Hui received a Bachelor of Art in Accounting & Finance from Dublin City University in 2007. We believe Mr. Hui’s extensive experience qualifies him to serve as our Chief Financial Officer.

Corporate Governance Documents

Charter of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors


Charter of the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors


Charter of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors

Code of Business
Conduct and Ethics