Director of Pharmacometrics
Eisai, Inc
Dr. Youfang Cao is a Director of Pharmacometrics in Translational Sciences of Eisai US. Within this capacity, he leverages his expertise in Quantitative Systems Pharmacology (QSP) modeling, Pharmacokinetics/Pharmacodynamics (PK/PD), and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) to contrite to end-to-end drug development processes. He leads and delivers innovative and robust solutions for clinical trial design, dose selection, and regulatory submissions. With over a decade of experience, Dr. Cao has specialized in developing and utilizing mechanistic models to drive drug discovery and development across both early and late stages, spanning diverse therapeutic areas such as neurology, infectious diseases, and oncology.
Prior to his tenure at Eisai US, which commenced in 2022, Dr. Cao was employed at Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), where he led the overarching QSP initiatives supporting the infectious disease portfolio, including the development of drugs for COVID-19 and HIV. He also led the AI/ML strategy supporting Quantitative Pharmacology and Pharmacometrics. Preceding his role at MSD, Dr. Cao served as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).
Dr. Cao has an interdisciplinary academic training with Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and PhD in Biomedical Engineering with a focus on computational and mathematical modeling of complex biological and pathophysiological systems. He extensive experience in Model-Informed Drug Development (MIDD) is exemplified through over 50 co-authored research publications in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Cao has been invited to give oral presentations in multiple academic and industry conferences.
