{"id":7910,"date":"2025-06-23T16:30:02","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T23:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/?post_type=press_releases&#038;p=7910"},"modified":"2025-06-23T17:44:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T00:44:37","slug":"rakuten-medical-strengthens-executive-team-with-appointment-of-cfo-andrew-liu","status":"publish","type":"press_releases","link":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/06\/23\/7910\/","title":{"rendered":"Rakuten Medical Strengthens Executive Team with Appointment of CFO Andrew Liu"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pl-7910\"  class=\"panel-layout\" ><div id=\"pg-7910-0\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\"  style=\"margin-bottom: 0px\" ><div id=\"pgc-7910-0-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-7910-0-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-editor panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"0\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-editor so-widget-sow-editor-base\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n<div class=\"siteorigin-widget-tinymce textwidget\">\n\t<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b><i>As the Company accelerates global clinical and commercial expansion, Liu's appointment marks a significant step in strengthening Rakuten Medical\u2019s business and financial foundation<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pg-7910-1\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\"  style=\"margin-bottom: 0px\" ><div id=\"pgc-7910-1-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-7910-1-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-editor panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"1\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-editor so-widget-sow-editor-base\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n<div class=\"siteorigin-widget-tinymce textwidget\">\n\t<p><b>San Diego, CA \u2013 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rakuten Medical, Inc., a global biotechnology company developing and commercializing Alluminox\u2122 platform-based photoimmunotherapy, today announced that Andrew Liu has joined the Company as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The appointment comes at a pivotal moment for Rakuten Medical, as its lean, highly agile team recently initiated a global Phase 3 clinical trial in the United States and Taiwan, while continuing to expand commercial operations in Japan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As CFO, Liu will oversee all aspects of Rakuten Medical\u2019s financial strategy, planning, accounting, and investor relations, further strengthening the Company\u2019s business and financial foundation to support long-term growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe are entering a transformative phase as we accelerate global clinical and commercial expansion,\u201d said Mickey Mikitani, CEO of Rakuten Medical. \u201cAndrew\u2019s deep experience in biotech and his strong track record in strategic and financial planning, private equity, and investment banking make him the ideal leader to guide our global financial strategy during this critical period of growth.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-7911 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/06\/Andrew_Liu_pr-223x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"140\" height=\"189\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/06\/Andrew_Liu_pr-223x300.jpg 223w, https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/06\/Andrew_Liu_pr.jpg 343w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 140px) 100vw, 140px\" \/>At investment bank J.P. Morgan and several private equity funds, Andrew spearheaded numerous successful projects in fundraising, M&amp;A, and investments. At Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Chengdu Kanghong Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., and SanBio Inc., a cell therapy biotech company, he was responsible for business development, corporate planning, and product portfolio strategy\u2014creating corporate value by leading pipeline out-licensing and in-licensing, business acquisitions, investments in biotech startups, and business reorganizations. Most recently, he served as a senior advisor for business alliances to Moffitt Cancer Center, one of the top cancer treatment and research centers in the U.S. He also acted as a senior advisor to Virogen Biotech, a startup developing a novel fusion protein with a wide range of applications, including in cancer treatment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cRakuten Medical\u2019s strong commitment to its mission of conquering cancer, and its mission-driven team, is something I\u2019m already proud to be part of,\u201d said Liu. \u201cThe company\u2019s pioneering technology, the Alluminox\u2122 platform, has the potential to transform cancer treatment, and the promising clinical and real-world data already reflect its impact. I look forward to working with the talented team and contributing to our continued growth and progress toward conquering cancer.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Born and raised in Tainan, Taiwan, Liu holds an M.A. in Regional Studies\u2013East Asia from Harvard University and a B.A. with High Honors in Biochemistry from Swarthmore College. He was also a Harvard-Yenching Institute Exchange Scholar at Beijing University. Based in Japan, he is fluent in Chinese, English, and Japanese. In his free time, he enjoys tennis, music, and calligraphy.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pg-7910-2\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\"  style=\"margin-bottom: 0px\" ><div id=\"pgc-7910-2-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-7910-2-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-editor panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"2\" ><div class=\"panel-widget-style panel-widget-style-for-7910-2-0-0\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-editor so-widget-sow-editor-base\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n<div class=\"siteorigin-widget-tinymce textwidget\">\n\t<p><b>About Rakuten Medical, Inc.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rakuten Medical, Inc. is a global biotechnology company developing and commercializing Alluminox\u2122 platform-based photoimmunotherapy, which, in pre-clinical studies, has been shown to induce rapid and selective cell killing. Rakuten Medical\u2019s photoimmunotherapy is currently investigational outside Japan. Rakuten Medical is committed to its mission to conquer cancer by developing its pioneering treatments as quickly as possible to as many patients as possible all over the world. The company has offices in 5 countries\/regions, including the United States, where it is headquartered, Japan, Taiwan, Switzerland and India. For more information, visit <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rakuten-med.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">www.rakuten-med.com<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>About Alluminox\u2122 platform\u00a0<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Alluminox\u2122 platform is Rakuten Medical\u2019s investigational technology platform that combines pharmaceuticals, medical devices, medical technology, and other peripheral technologies. Rakuten Medical is developing Alluminox platform-based photoimmunotherapy, which involves two key steps: 1) drug administration and 2) targeted illumination using medical devices. The drug component consists of a cell-targeting moiety conjugated to a light-activatable dye, such as IRDye\u00ae 700DX (IR700), that selectively binds to the surface of targeted cells, such as tumor cells. The device component consists of a light source that locally illuminates the targeted cells with red light (690nm) to transiently activate the drug. Rakuten Medical\u2019s pre-clinical data have shown that this activation elicits rapid and selective necrosis of targeted cells through a biophysical process that compromises the membrane integrity of the targeted cells. Therapies developed on the Alluminox platform may also result in local and systemic innate and adaptive immune activation due to immunogenic cell death of the targeted tumor cells and\/or the removal of targeted immunosuppressive cells within the tumor microenvironment. Photoimmunotherapy was originally developed by Dr. Hisataka Kobayashi and his team at the National Cancer Institute in the United States. Outside Japan, Rakuten Medical\u2019s Alluminox platform-based photoimmunotherapy is investigational.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pg-7910-3\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-7910-3-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-7910-3-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-button panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"3\" ><div style=\"padding: 30px 0px 0px 0px;\" class=\"panel-widget-style panel-widget-style-for-7910-3-0-0\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-button so-widget-sow-button-flat-6fd36f18507f-7910\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><div class=\"ow-button-base ow-button-align-center\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/contact\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"rakuten-btn sowb-button ow-icon-placement-left ow-button-hover\" \t>\n\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tContact Us\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Company accelerates global clinical and commercial expansion, Liu&#8217;s appointment marks a significant step in strengthening Rakuten Medical\u2019s business [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7909,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-7910","1":"press_releases","2":"type-press_releases","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Rakuten Medical Strengthens Executive Team with Appointment of CFO Andrew Liu - Rakuten Medical - To conquer cancer.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/06\/23\/7910\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rakuten Medical Strengthens Executive Team with Appointment of CFO Andrew Liu - Rakuten Medical - To conquer cancer.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As the Company accelerates global clinical and commercial expansion, Liu&#039;s appointment marks a significant step in strengthening Rakuten Medical\u2019s business [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/06\/23\/7910\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rakuten Medical - To conquer cancer.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-24T00:44:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/06\/Andrew_Liu.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rakuten-med.com\\\/us\\\/news\\\/press-releases\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/23\\\/7910\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rakuten-med.com\\\/us\\\/news\\\/press-releases\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/23\\\/7910\\\/\",\"name\":\"Rakuten Medical Strengthens Executive Team with Appointment of CFO Andrew Liu - Rakuten Medical - To conquer cancer.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rakuten-med.com\\\/us\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rakuten-med.com\\\/us\\\/news\\\/press-releases\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/23\\\/7910\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rakuten-med.com\\\/us\\\/news\\\/press-releases\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/23\\\/7910\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rakuten-med.com\\\/us\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/Andrew_Liu.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-23T23:30:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-24T00:44:37+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rakuten-med.com\\\/us\\\/news\\\/press-releases\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/23\\\/7910\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/rakuten-med.com\\\/us\\\/news\\\/press-releases\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/23\\\/7910\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rakuten-med.com\\\/us\\\/news\\\/press-releases\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/23\\\/7910\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rakuten-med.com\\\/us\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/Andrew_Liu.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rakuten-med.com\\\/us\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/Andrew_Liu.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rakuten-med.com\\\/us\\\/news\\\/press-releases\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/23\\\/7910\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rakuten-med.com\\\/us\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rakuten Medical Strengthens Executive Team with Appointment of CFO Andrew Liu\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rakuten-med.com\\\/us\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rakuten-med.com\\\/us\\\/\",\"name\":\"Rakuten Medical - To conquer cancer.\",\"description\":\"Rakuten Medical, Inc. is a global biotechnology company developing precision, cell-targeting investigational therapies on its Alluminox\u2122TM technology platform. We are committed to our mission to conquer cancer and aim to achieve a society where cancer patients can lead fulfilling lives.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rakuten-med.com\\\/us\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rakuten Medical Strengthens Executive Team with Appointment of CFO Andrew Liu - Rakuten Medical - To conquer cancer.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/06\/23\/7910\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rakuten Medical Strengthens Executive Team with Appointment of CFO Andrew Liu - Rakuten Medical - To conquer cancer.","og_description":"As the Company accelerates global clinical and commercial expansion, Liu's appointment marks a significant step in strengthening Rakuten Medical\u2019s business [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/06\/23\/7910\/","og_site_name":"Rakuten Medical - To conquer cancer.","article_modified_time":"2025-06-24T00:44:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/06\/Andrew_Liu.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/06\/23\/7910\/","url":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/06\/23\/7910\/","name":"Rakuten Medical Strengthens Executive Team with Appointment of CFO Andrew Liu - Rakuten Medical - To conquer cancer.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/06\/23\/7910\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/06\/23\/7910\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/06\/Andrew_Liu.jpg","datePublished":"2025-06-23T23:30:02+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-24T00:44:37+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/06\/23\/7910\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/06\/23\/7910\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/06\/23\/7910\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/06\/Andrew_Liu.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/06\/Andrew_Liu.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/06\/23\/7910\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rakuten Medical Strengthens Executive Team with Appointment of CFO Andrew Liu"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/#website","url":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/","name":"Rakuten Medical - To conquer cancer.","description":"Rakuten Medical, Inc. is a global biotechnology company developing precision, cell-targeting investigational therapies on its Alluminox\u2122TM technology platform. We are committed to our mission to conquer cancer and aim to achieve a society where cancer patients can lead fulfilling lives.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/7910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press_releases"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rakuten-med.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}