# Michelle Xia (Xia Yu)

Source: https://onco.cc/people/xia-michelle/  
OnCo record `xia-michelle` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Michelle Xia founded Akeso, the Zhongshan company whose bispecific antibody ivonescimab was the first drug to beat pembrolizumab in a head-to-head trial.

## Summary

A returnee antibody scientist who founded Akeso in 2012 and built the Tetrabody platform behind cadonilimab (PD-1 x CTLA-4, approved 2022), ivonescimab (PD-1 x VEGF, approved 2024, HARMONi-2 win over pembrolizumab) and penpulimab (FDA approved 2025); licensed ivonescimab's Western rights to Summit Therapeutics for $500 million upfront.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Also known as: Yu Xia; 夏瑜
- Tags: china
- Role: Founder, Chairwoman and CEO, Akeso
- Specialisms: Bispecific antibodies; Antibody discovery; Biotech leadership

## Sources

- Akeso: https://www.akesobio.com/

## Connected records

- drugs: [Cadonilimab](https://onco.cc/drugs/cadonilimab/), [Ivonescimab](https://onco.cc/drugs/ivonescimab/), [Penpulimab](https://onco.cc/drugs/penpulimab/)
- companies: [Akeso](https://onco.cc/companies/akeso/)
- trials: [HARMONi-2](https://onco.cc/trials/harmoni-2/), [HARMONi-A](https://onco.cc/trials/harmoni-a/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/xia-michelle.json