Dr Arie Belldegrun Discusses His Vision for Treating Cancer

Arie Belldegrun, MD, is the Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Allogene. He currently serves as Chairman of Two River Group, UroGen Pharma, Kronos Bio, and as Co-Chairman of Breakthrough Properties. He is also on the Board of Gingko Bioworks, IconOVir, ByHeart, and is a Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director of Vida Ventures. As a visionary entrepreneur, Dr Belldegrun has had a distinguished tenure in the life sciences, having been closely involved with the founding and advancement of several successful biopharmaceutical companies including Cougar Biotechnology and Agensys. ZYTIGA® (abiraterone acetate), developed by Cougar, is a mainstay of therapy for patients with metastatic prostate cancer. Dr Belldegrun also founded Kite Pharma, a recognized leader in CAR T therapy where he served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer until the acquisition of Kite by Gilead Sciences in October 2017. Dr Belldegrun is a Research Professor, holds the Roy and Carol Doumani Chair in Urologic Oncology, and is Director of the Institute of Urologic Oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Prior to joining UCLA, Dr Belldegrun was at the National Cancer Institute/ National Institutes of Health as a research fellow in surgical oncology and immunotherapy under Dr Steven A Rosenberg. He has authored several books on oncology and more than 500 scientific and medical papers related to urological cancers, immunotherapy, gene therapy and cancer vaccines. He is also certified by the American Board of Urology and is a member of the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons. He completed his MD at the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem, his post-graduate studies in immunology at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and his residency in urologic surgery at Harvard Medical School.

Fred Hassan is a Director at the private equity firm, Warburg Pincus. He is also a Board member of Amgen and Precigen.  He is also the Chairman of Caret Group.Fred Hassan is the former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Schering-Plough Corporation. Prior to joining Schering-Plough in April 2003, Hassan was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pharmacia Corporation – a company that was formed in March 2000 as a result of the merger of Monsanto and Pharmacia and Upjohn. Hassan joined Pharmacia & Upjohn as Chief Executive Officer in 1997. Previously, Hassan was Executive Vice President of Wyeth, with responsibility for its pharmaceutical and medical products business. He was elected to Wyeth’s Board of Directors in 1995. Earlier in his career, Hassan spent 17 years with Sandoz Pharmaceuticals (now Novartis) and headed its U.S. pharmaceuticals business. Hassan received a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology at the University of London and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Hassan has chaired significant pharmaceutical industry organizations including The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA). Mr. Hassan is also a member of The Business Council. Fred Hassan’s book, “Reinvent –  A Leader’s Playbook for Serial Success” was published in February 2013 by Wiley and has been discussed in many global organizations including the World Bank. In 2014 he was selected by a CNBC panel to be among the 200 people who have had the greatest influence on business in the past quarter century.