Edward Hu, MBA

Sofie Qiao, Ph.D., founded Virtuoso and has served as its President and Chief Executive Officer since its inception. Dr. Qiao was also the founding president and CEO of Vivace Therapeutics, and a member of its Board of Directors. Prior to co-founding Vivace, she served as Managing Director of WuXi Ventures, the corporate venture arm of WuXi AppTec. Dr. Qiao also co-founded LEAD Therapeutics, a chemistry-driven drug discovery company, in 2006, assembled the management team, and played a central role in raising $17 million in Series A financing. LEAD was acquired in 2010 by BioMarin for up to $97 million, primarily for its PARP inhibitor (Talazoparib), then in preclinical development. Dr. Qiao began her industry career at Genzyme as a medicinal chemist, and later moved into business roles with McKinsey & Company, Syrrx (now Takeda California) and Discovery Partners International (now Galapagos). She holds a doctorate in organic chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an A.B. in chemistry from Harvard University.