Ailux announced the appointment of Maria G. Belvisi, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer, marking a significant step in its evolution from AI-driven biologics discovery to a fully integrated drug development organization.
Belvisi joins Ailux from AstraZeneca, where she served as Senior Vice President of Research and Development for Respiratory & Immunology within BioPharmaceuticals R&D. During her tenure, she led a global organization of approximately 500 scientists and built a highly productive early-stage pipeline, including advancing tozorakimab from preclinical development through a Phase 3 investment decision. The program recently achieved primary endpoints in two pivotal COPD trials, representing a major milestone in respiratory medicine.
In her new role, Belvisi will oversee Ailux’s scientific strategy and program development, and establish and lead a new UK research site. This expansion will complement the company’s research in Shanghai and strengthen its presence in key innovation hubs worldwide.
Headquartered in Shanghai and backed by XtalPi, Ailux operates as an AI-native biotech company that combines proprietary biologics platforms with advanced wet-lab capabilities. The company employs approximately 150 people across China, the UK, and the US and has collaborated with major pharmaceutical companies, including Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, and UCB. It is currently advancing its internal pipeline with a goal of achieving its first clinical entry by 2027.
Belvisi brings more than three decades of experience spanning both academia and industry. She continues to hold a professorship at Imperial College London, where she has trained dozens of PhD students and published over 250 peer-reviewed papers. Her previous leadership roles also include serving as Research Director of the European Respiratory Society and founding IR Pharma, a contract research organization focused on respiratory therapeutics.
The appointment underscores Ailux’s ambition to integrate AI and biology at a foundational level, accelerating the discovery and development of first-in-class and best-in-class therapies.
KEY QUOTES:
“Maria is exactly the kind of scientific leader Ailux needs at this stage of our journey. She has spent her career turning bold scientific hypotheses into medicines that reach patients — building programs from scratch, taking them through the clinic, and doing so at a scale that few have matched. We are building Ailux to go the full distance, and Maria’s scientific leadership will be central to every step of that journey.”
Alex Li, Chief Executive Officer, Ailux
“What drew me to Ailux is the genuine integration of AI and biology — not AI as a tool applied to conventional drug discovery, but as a co-equal foundation for how programs are conceived and built. I believe Ailux’s platform and team give us a real opportunity to originate first-in-class and best-in-class medicines, and I am excited to join the team and work together to build a global company that can deliver transformative therapies to patients.”
Maria G. Belvisi, Chief Scientific Officer, Ailux
