Gene Lay (賴正光), an alumnus of the NPUST Department of Veterinary Medicine (Class of 1982), and founder and CEO of BioLegend, is a star in Taiwan’s the biotechnology industry. His impressive work has earned him the Medal of Honor from the German Society for Immunology (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Immunologie), and the “2016 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award”. Additionally, in 2020, his “TotalSeq™-C Human Universal Cocktail v1.0” was selected as one of the top ten innovations of the year by the world-renowned scientific magazine, The Scientist.
Lay’s dazzling achievements are a source of pride for National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST), which will be celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2024. With this important occasion drawing near, NPUST reached out to Lay via a video call to specially invite him to return to his Alma Mater for the upcoming celebration, and to share his wonderful success story with his juniors at the school. The call was personally made by NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang, Secretary Wen-Ling Shih, College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Yi-Yang Lien, Professor Shih-Chu Chen, and alumni of the Department of Veterinary Medicine, Shen-Pang Tsai.
During the call, Lay pointed to the solid practical training he received during his time at NPUST—how he was provided with a solid foundation in veterinary medicine, and equipped with better clinical operation skills than students from other schools in the country. His senior year was especially important, as it was the time when he developed a special interest in immunology, and when the seeds of his future entrepreneurial endeavors would be planted. He was also influenced by the classic words of Professor Cheng-I Liu, an expert in pathology at the time, who said: “it doesn’t matter if you don’t get into National Taiwan University, start studying hard now, and you will become a teacher of National Taiwan University students in the future”. Lay did work tirelessly during his studies—and he set his focus on the fields of learning that he was interested in. When he graduated, he began his career working in Taiwan’s domestic biotechnology industry, but soon decided to go to the United States to improve his professional ability through further studies.
With a master’s degree in hand, Lay and his friends went on to establish PharMingen with 260,000 US dollars in startup funds. Together, they began developing biological, immunological and medical research products as well as testing reagents, which are widely used. The year was 1987, and the business venture was his first. Ten years later, the company was acquired by BD Biosciences for a large sum of money; but Lay continued to work hard and gain experience in operating and managing large enterprises. When the global economic bubble burst in 2002, Lay saw it as the opportune time to found his second company, BioLegend.
BioLegend ultimately established itself in the biomedical sector as a reliable provider of proteins, antibodies, and immune-related reagents. Lay pointed out that if you “persist in doing the right thing, and if there is a need, the money will come naturally; so profit is not the first consideration.” Predicaments led to opportunity and despite the tense early stages of his business operations, BioLegend grew rapidly.
Lay eventually developed a relationship with renowned Professor Shu Chien of the University of California, San Diego. Professor Chien’s modest and elegant demeanor and his attitude towards learning and dealing with people deeply influenced Lay, who regards Professor Chien as a mentor. Meanwhile, Chien believes that Lay’s success comes from his honest and sincere personality traits, and his involvement at every level. Even though Lay founded San Diego’s leading biotechnology company, he stood right beside his employees throughout the pandemic. He came in every day, and he always treats his employees as family members— creating a friendly workplace and an environment positive to everyone’s physical and mental health. BioLegend was able to thrive and become a world-class biological reagent company on account of Lay’s humility and down-to-earth entrepreneurial spirit. Professor Chien believes that even though Lay regards him as a mentor, he feels that they are both each other’s teachers and friends.
Lay is also CEO of the Laygend Foundation, which donated US$25 million to the Bioengineering Department of the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California, San Diego in 2022. In honor of the contribution, the department changed its name to the Shu Chien-Gene Lay Department of Bioengineering. The huge funding allowed the department to renovate laboratories, expand teaching resources, and purchase research equipment which will allow them to cultivate even more biomedical talent.
Lay is not only a successful biotechnology entrepreneur, but also an enthusiastic philanthropist and educator. His advice: “don’t limit yourself, don’t underestimate yourself; find your interest, and do what you like. That way, you will have the motivation to delve deeper into your research, and will be able to discover your unlimited potential as you create the broadest pathway forward.”
Enthusiastic about public welfare, Lay has often lent his support to medical associations. And through his interaction with the associations, Lay was able to get a pulse on the current situation in the medical industry. In May of this year, Lay made a donation to the Brigham and Women’s Hospital through the Laygend Foundation. He also jointly established the Gene Lay Institute of Immunology and Inflammation with Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. In addition to cultivating talent, the institute will serve as a link between academia and industry and a testing institution for new drugs. With the cooperation of multiple parties, hopes are to accelerate the development of new medicines for difficult diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, immune system diseases, cancers, and diseases associated with chronic inflammation. The Brigham and Women’s Hospital, which received its largest donation in history from Laygend, expressed that Lay not only has a profound vision, but also is enthusiastic and selfless in the way he provides financial support, integrates different sectors, and brings together experts in diverse areas so as to make the greatest contribution to human medicine possible.
As a successful entrepreneur, Lay never forgets to give back, and he has been a long-term sponsor of domestic and foreign universities. He described his fascination with immunology as the driving force for his continuous advancement. As his Alma Mater, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology feels honored by his extraordinary achievements. The school is looking forward to welcoming this legend in the field of biomedicine and technology to the school to celebrate its 100th anniversary next year, and wishes Lay continued success and a wonderful life in the future as he continues in his professional role to improve people’s health and benefit all mankind.
