3R Life Sciences was founded in December 2014 by Dr. Pong-Jeu Lu and is headquartered in Taiwan. Under the leadership of Dr. Lu and strong support from our Chairman Mr. Allen Shan-Ko Hsu, 3R is a fast-growing company that now employs over 100 talented engineers, supporting staff, and veterinarians who are dedicated to developing quality and innovative medical devices for treating heart failure.
Dr. Pong-Jeu Lu was the professor and Chair of the Aeronautics and Astronautics department at the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, where he was deeply involved in many national programs in planning and promoting domestic aero-industry and flight safety. Leveraging his broad expertise in fluid mechanics and aeronautic engineering, Prof. Lu conducted an in-depth analysis of hemodynamic and physical properties required to support a failing circulation and proposed that an early intervention pulsatile device would benefit the largest number of people with advanced heart failure. The resulting device is our leading product, the VIGOR Circulatory Assist System.
3R Life Sciences is viewed as one of the leading biomedical startup companies in the Asia Pacific region. We are supported by prominent investors, including Hermes-Epitek Corporation and Mr. Der-Fon Cao. We have also established a strong Clinical Advisory Board with leading Cardiologists and Cardiac Surgeons from renowned medical centers in the United Kingdom, United States, and Taiwan. The investors and Board members are fully dedicated to the success of the VIGOR project and are highly confident that VIGOR can serve as a new treatment modality to fill the current treatment gap in heart failure therapy.
Our goal is to establish 3R as a platform company that develops innovative medical devices to address unmet medical needs in the cardiovascular arena.
Our objective for the VIGOR Project is to assist the failing heart to revive, regenerate, and recover in certain subgroup with nonischemic heart failure etiology.
The space and aeronautical disciplines have contributed significantly to the development of mechanical circulatory support – for example, the DeBakey device (first axial flow implantable pump) was developed with NASA, and the Carmat (total artificial heart) was developed with Airbus/EADS.
We are a company that is devoted to meet and exceed all customer expectations.
We strive to achieve the highest standards of quality in the medical device industry.
We comply with regulatory standards. We have a quality system that focuses on our regulatory and business needs.
We strive to enhance our products, services and processes through continuous improvement and operational excellence. We will evaluate customer complaints, manufacturing defects, customer and clinical feedback to improve our processes, products, and services.
3R Life Sciences, Ltd. has received certification from the BSI on Nov 13, 2023, that our quality system meets the ISO 13485:2016 Standard for Medical Device and Product Development and Manufacturing.
Chief Executive Officer & Founder
Dr. Lu is the founder and CEO of 3R. Prior to 3R, Dr. Lu served for 31 years as an Associate Professor, Professor, and Chair of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan.
During his tenure in NCKU, Dr. Lu’s research in aeronautics included but was not limited to (1) High-resolution schemes for capturing shock waves and acoustic waves, (2) Flutter analysis in wing design and aeroengine compressors, (3) Self-excited unsteady flow and flow control, and (4) AI-based aeroengine condition monitoring and fault diagnosis.
Starting from 1998, Dr. Lu ventured into biomedical engineering research. In 1999, Dr. Lu founded the Heart Science and Medical Devices Research Center in NCKU and led a multidisciplinary team to develop a novel circulatory assist system (VIGOR). In 2009 and 2014, Dr. Lu secured two venture capital investment rounds and founded 3R Life Sciences Ltd. in December 2014.
Dr. Lu holds a B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from National Taiwan University and a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University.
Chief Medical Officer
Mr. Tsui brings with him more than 25 years of experience in the surgical treatment of advanced heart failure. In addition to his role as CMO at 3R Life Sciences, Mr. Tsui maintains a busy surgical practice as a senior cardiothoracic and transplant surgeon at Royal Papworth Hospital, UK, where he has served as the Director of Transplantation & Mechanical Circulatory Support as well as Deputy Medical Director. He has extensive experience with implantable left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) and regulatory approval requirements. He has served as a Consultant on Clinical Advisory Boards for a wide range of LVADs during their development including the VentrAssist, DuraHeart, HVAD, MVAD, HeartMate 3 and the CorWave LVAD. He has also proctored LVAD implantation in hospitals across 7 countries.
Mr. Tsui graduated from the University of Cambridge, UK and underwent cardiothoracic surgical training in Cambridge, Oxford, and Duke University Medical School, USA. He has a doctorate degree from the University of Cambridge, is a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and has Board Certification from the Inter-collegiate Specialty Board in Cardiothoracic Surgery in the UK.
Ms. Emily Lin is the Vice President of 3R responsible for program management of the medical device development, supply chain supervision, business expansion and overall administration. Prior to joining 3R, Ms. Lin was a Senior Managing Consultant at IBM Global Business Services for over 15 years and a Project Manager for other major information technology companies in the United States. Ms. Lin has a successful track record in leading and managing global system deployment projects in the automotive, manufacturing and distribution industries. She is result-oriented with a deep commitment to achieving success.
As a seasoned executive at 3R, Ms. Lin is dedicated to apply her strong program management, business analysis, and leadership skills and work directly with the various internal and external stakeholders to drive the VIGOR program and other pipeline projects to success at 3R.
As the Technical Director, Dr. C.C. Hu oversees the technical research and development activities that span mechanical, electrical, software, and manufacturing process designs. He brings with him more than 10 years of research experience and knowledge in fluid dynamics and electrical engineering.
In addition to his role as the Technical Director at 3R, Dr. Hu is also the Deputy Head of the Flow Measurement Lab in the Aerospace Science and Technology Research Center at National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan. Prior to 3R, Dr. Hu served for 9 years as an Assistant Professor and Associate Professor of the Electrical Engineering Department at a local university.
Dr. Hu holds a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from National Cheng Kung University, where he studied fluid dynamics and digital signal processing.
Professor of Surgery
Chief, Section of Adult Cardiac Surgery
Surgical Director for LVAD Program
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Professor/Honorary Consultant
Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health
Consultant Cardiologist
Advanced Heart Failure
Device Therapy and Transplantation
Chair and Professor, Department of Surgery
Director, Circulatory Life Support & Innovative Medical Devices Research Center
We are always looking for inspired Talents to join our mission.
See open positions at 3R on 104 Human Resources Website
No. 90, Luke 5th Road, Luzhu District, Kaohsiung City 821, Taiwan
+886-7-6955090