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Allergen Biologics created this award due to its first-rate relationship with Xinghua Zeng, the lab manager for the UNC Vector Core, which provides AAV products to researchers around the world.


Allergen Biologics created this award due to its first-rate relationship with Xinghua Zeng, the lab manager for the UNC Vector Core, which provides AAV products to researchers around the world.

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Xinghua Zeng, MS

February 28, 2019

Each year, Allergan Biologics, a pharmaceutical company based in the United Kingdom, picks a Supplier of the Year award from its list of “contract research organizations (CROs)” or “contract manufacturing organization (CMOs),” with which Allergan partners on various drug development projects. This year, Allergan created a new award category so it could honor UNC School of Medicine’s Xinghua Zeng, MS, the lab manager of the UNC Vector Core. The company named Zeng as winner of its first-ever Outstanding Individual Performance Award.

The UNC Vector Core creates custom-made adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors for use by academic research labs and companies around the world. The Vector Core also provides analytical expertise on various AAV products typically used in gene therapy research and drug development.

A company such as Allergen typically spends tens of millions of dollars on various CMOs and CROs for research and development. When the company examined its 2018 project metrics and performance criteria, its leaders realized that the UNC Core Vector didn’t quite fit either CRO or CMO category. But they realized the quality of service and support Zeng provided, and so they selected her to win this award out of the thousands of people Allergen works with on R&D from outside organizations, including UNC-Chapel Hill.

“We thank Xinghua for all her hard work, passion and commitment in the work she has performed for Allergan on our AAV R&D projects,” said Derek Ellison, PhD, Associate Vice President, CMC Development Operations for Allergen. “We recognize Xinghua for going the extra mile in providing great service, promptly and proactively flagging issues, and providing invaluable support in resolving them. She has been personable, flexible, and accommodating and yet maintained the highest standards of professionalism. She has more than earned the respect of the Allergan colleagues she has dealt with. Xinghua has been an absolute pleasure to work with and we look forward to further successful work with her throughout 2019.”