Singapore: Simcere Pharmaceutical, a leading pharmaceutical company specializing in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of branded and proprietary pharmaceuticals in China, appointed Mr Hongquan Liu, as its CEO and executive director of the board, effective October 8, 2012. Mr Jinsheng Ren will continue to serve as chairman of Simcere.

The company also announced that Dr Yehong Zhang, who currently serves as president of Simcere, will serve as CEO of Simcere MSD, Shanghai, which is the newly established joint venture between Simcere and Merck, effective from October 8, 2012. Dr Zhang will no longer hold the position of president of Simcere.

Between 2000-12, Mr Hongquan Liu held the positions of director and GM of Sino-Swed Pharmaceutical, the first pharmaceutical joint venture between China and Sweden. Prior to this, Mr Liu held the positions of CFO and chief marketing and business officer of Pharmacia & Upjohn, China, and GM of Pharmacia. Mr Liu received an EMBA degree from China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and a bachelor's degree from Shanxi College of Finance and Economics.

Mr Jinsheng Ren, chairman, Simcere, said that, "Hongquan will be instrumental in helping position Simcere for long-term sustainable growth. With Hongquan leading the company's overall management and operations, I look forward to devoting more of my time to focusing on Simcere's mid- to long-term strategic direction and to building relationships with major stakeholders."

"I am very excited to join Simcere as CEO," said Mr Liu. "With its abundant range of competitive products and solid management foundation, I am confident that Simcere has a promising future with high growth potential in China's rapidly developing pharmaceutical industry. I look forward to working alongside Mr Ren and the entire management team to raise the quality of the company's operations and to strengthen its market competitiveness."