CEO Today USA Awards

www.ceotodaymagazine.com 18 CEO Today USAAwards 2017 CALIFORNIA Kite grew under Dr. Belldegrun’s leadership from a small biopharmaceutical company with a promising idea into a leader in the space with a groundbreaking treatment for the many patients who previously had no other options. The story of Kite’s growth is the story of great teams. Bringing a CAR T therapy to market was not a simple question of running clinical trials. The therapy is created from a patient’s own cells, making manufacturing and logistics nearly as important as the underlying science and requiring cooperation and coordination across the company. That kind of teamwork is a legacy of Dr. Belldegrun, whose drive, infectious spirit and passion to change the world have inspired the company’s employees to push the boundaries of what they might believe is possible. This success is not the only chapter in Dr. Belldegrun’s pursuit to cure cancer. He has led other efforts to develop novel cancer treatments and advanced several successful private and public biopharmaceutical companies prior to Kite. In 1996, he founded Agensys, Inc., a biotechnology company that explored ways of creating molecules that combined the targeting power of monoclonal antibodies with cell-killing chemotherapy, and served as its founding Chairman and as a board member until 2007, when it was acquired by Astellas Pharma Inc. From 2003 to 2009, he was the founding Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of prostate-cancer pioneer Cougar Biotechnology, Inc., until it was acquired by Johnson & Johnson. Dr. Belldegrun is the Chairman of Two River Consulting, LLC and UroGen Pharma, Ltd. and currently serves as a board member “Kite grew under Dr. Belldegrun’s leadership from a small biopharmaceutical company with a promising idea into a leader in the space with a groundbreaking treatment for the many patients who previously had no other options.”