# Behind Lizhu Pharma's Executive "Earthquake": Four Veteran Executives Resign on Same Day, Performance Growth Slows and R&D Pipeline Weakens

Chinatimes.net.cn Reporter Guo Yilin and Yu Na Beijing Report

Recently, Livzon Pharmaceutical Group Inc. announced that it lost four core executives on the same day.

According to reports, all four executives submitted their resignations on the same day, with post-85s Liu Daping taking over as President. As one of China’s longstanding pharmaceutical companies, Livzon was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Main Board in 1993 and became the first pharmaceutical company to be listed with A and B shares. In 2014, it transitioned from B shares to H shares, listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Main Board under the stock abbreviation Livzon Pharma. In the 1990s, Livzon Group gained nationwide popularity with its stomach medicine “Lizhu Dele,” and its antiviral granules saw doubled sales during SARS, H1N1, and COVID-19 outbreaks.

In recent years, Livzon Pharma has been reported to have sluggish performance, raising industry concern over whether the “new-old leadership transition” can bring new vitality to the company. In response, Shi Tianyi, an analyst at Hejun Consulting’s Pharmaceutical and Medical Business Division, told Huaxia Times that “Livzon Group’s leadership change is an active adjustment to address weak performance growth. The new management team is characterized by youth and professionalism, aiming to introduce a team with production, sales, and international backgrounds to break the deadlock of declining core product prices and R&D investment, and to accelerate the company’s transformation toward innovation.”

Executive Resignations

The announcement disclosed that, due to reaching the statutory retirement age, Mr. Xu Guoxiang has applied to resign from his positions as Vice Chairman, Executive Director, and Vice President; Mr. Tao Desheng has applied to resign as Vice Chairman and Non-Executive Director; Ms. Si Yanxia has applied to resign as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Meanwhile, due to work adjustments, Mr. Tang Yangang has applied to resign as President but will retain his position as Executive Director and is proposed to be elected as Vice Chairman.

This marks a significant leadership overhaul, with Xu Guoxiang and Tao Desheng being longtime “veterans” deeply tied to Livzon. Xu Guoxiang joined Livzon in 1992, rising from a basic workshop technician to a core management figure, witnessing Livzon’s growth from a local pharmaceutical factory to a leading industry player listed in both A and H shares. Tao Desheng has also served over thirty years at the company, playing a key role in Livzon’s traditional Chinese medicine sector. Si Yanxia, the CFO, has been the “gatekeeper” of Livzon’s steady financial system for years.

While the retirement of these veteran leaders is respectable, it also underscores the relentless passage of time. The phrase “due to reaching the statutory retirement age” marks the end of a long career chapter. The successor to the presidency is only 38-year-old Liu Daping. A graduate of China Pharmaceutical University with a major in drug formulation, Liu started as a process technician at Haibin Pharmaceutical, then served as workshop director and production director, later managing Shenzhen Taiai Pharmaceutical, and was promoted to Vice President of Livzon Group in January 2024. Alongside him, new appointees include 45-year-old Chen Zhihua, with a background in Haisen Pharmaceutical sales, and 44-year-old Wang Sheng, formerly a Deloitte tax manager and Takeda Pharmaceutical’s North Asia tax head.

This new leadership team is younger and more professional. However, market attention is not only on their resumes but also on the underlying reasons for this “big shake-up”—beyond official reasons like “retirement” and “work adjustments,” is there an underlying sense of helplessness and a desire for change in an old pharmaceutical company facing growth bottlenecks?

Performance Growth Slowing

Behind any personnel upheaval, there is often the silent influence of performance. Reviewing Livzon Pharma’s recent financial reports reveals a company caught in a “boiling frog” style growth anxiety.

In 2024, Livzon Pharma achieved total revenue of 11.812 billion yuan, down 4.97% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 2.061 billion yuan, up 5.5%. Revenue declined while profits slightly increased, typically indicating cost-cutting or product restructuring, and suggesting sluggish core business growth.

Entering 2025, this fatigue persists. In the first three quarters, the company’s revenue was 9.116 billion yuan, a slight increase of 0.38%; net profit was 1.754 billion yuan, up 4.86%. Notably, in the third quarter alone, net profit attributable to shareholders fell 5.73% year-on-year. Amid overall industry pressure and normalized centralized procurement, Livzon has maintained its basic operations but lost some of its previous high-growth elasticity.

More concerning than revenue figures is the continued shrinkage of R&D investment. The financial report shows that in 2024, Livzon’s R&D expenses totaled 1.03 billion yuan, a drop of over 20% from 1.33 billion yuan in 2023. In the first three quarters of 2025, R&D spending was only 683 million yuan, with the R&D expense ratio falling to 7.49%.

How does this 7.49% R&D ratio compare within the industry? Looking at leading companies in the innovative drug sector, the gap is clear. Hansoh Pharma’s R&D expenses in the first three quarters of 2025 reached 4.945 billion yuan, accounting for over 20% of revenue; Fosun Pharma’s R&D investment was 2.73 billion yuan in the same period. In contrast, Livzon’s absolute R&D expenditure is less than one-seventh of Hansoh’s and less than a quarter of Fosun’s.

For a pharmaceutical company committed to “innovative breakthroughs,” R&D pipelines are vital. Reduced investment in innovation often means less future momentum over the next 3–5 years. Livzon is aware of this, emphasizing its “innovation pipeline layout” in various forums, with some achievements in assisted reproduction and neuropsychiatry.

For example, its recombinant anti-human IL-17A/F monoclonal antibody injection (Lecankinta) for psoriasis has been filed for approval and included in priority review, expected to be approved by the end of 2026; its semaglutide injection for weight loss has completed Phase III clinical trials.

However, limited R&D funds must be carefully allocated across multiple pipelines. While Hansoh is expanding into ADCs, GLP-1, and international BD, and Fosun is heavily investing in CAR-T and nuclear medicine, Livzon’s choices appear more cautious, even conservative.

What impact will this leadership overhaul have on Livzon Pharma? According to Shi Tianyi, a young, professional management team can inject innovation vitality and international perspectives, potentially breaking the long-standing performance stagnation. However, the new team may also face a painful period of adjustment, and under pressure on core products, any strategic shifts could be amplified. While this leadership change is hoped to “break the deadlock through change,” whether reforms will truly take hold and new directions succeed remains to be seen over time.

Editor: Jiang Yuqing Chief Editor: Chen Yanpeng