Back in the Lab at 42, Doctoral Qualifier at 44 — The Story of YD Bio Founder Dr. Ethan Shen

Back in the Lab at 42, Doctoral Qualifier at 44 — The Story of YD Bio Founder Dr. Ethan Shen

The Year Father Left

In 2017, his father passed away.

In the months that followed, he read extensively from Buddhist texts. A sense of calm gradually returned — but one question stayed with him: after all these years in this industry, was there a way to get closer to what truly matters?

The direction that followed grew from that question.

"After all these years in this industry, is there a way to get closer to what truly matters?"

Into the Lab at 42

In 2018, he enrolled in the joint doctoral program at Taipei Medical University and Academia Sinica.

At 43, he published cancer vaccine research in an international peer-reviewed journal. At 44, he passed his doctoral qualifying examination. Most of his classmates were twenty years younger.

That period added a new dimension to decision-making — not just asking whether a direction works in the market, but asking how deeply the science is actually understood.

"Some things you only understand by doing."

What the Pharmacy Taught

During the years running a pharmacy in Wanhua, Taipei, the daily reality was patients — not data points, but people standing in front of you asking if you could help.

That image stayed. It comes back every time a research direction is being evaluated.

After 2020

The pandemic clarified many things. When humans face disease, the immune system is where the real work happens — and the applications of this field are still in early stages.

Dendritic cells, γδ T cells, natural killer cells — meaningful in oncology, and potentially relevant across other disease areas. This is the direction YD Bio is pursuing.

Science offers no guarantees. But what YD Bio is building is worth taking seriously.

Note: YD Bio Ltd listed on the Nasdaq Global Market on August 29, 2025, under the ticker symbol YDES. Dr. Shen is also co-founder of JY BioMed, which focuses on clinical translation of immune cell therapies — including dendritic cell cancer vaccines, γδ T cells, natural killer cells, and exosome platforms. Learn more about JY BioMed: www.jy-biomed.com/

About YD Bio Limited

YD Bio Ltd is a U.S.-anchored public biotechnology company building an integrated healthcare platform across regulated diagnostics, clinical services, and commercial healthcare markets. The Company operates DNA methylation–based oncology testing programs in the United States under an LDT-first strategy and provides compliant life science distribution and clinical trial supply chain services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners. In addition, YD Bio Ltd maintains regulated ocular health commercialization operations and a consumer health distribution platform in Asia. Through strategic partnerships and scalable execution capabilities, the Company advances biomedical innovation with real-world clinical and commercial impact. For more information, visit ir.ydesgroup.com and follow the Company on Facebook, X, Threads, Instagram and LinkedIn.