Speakers
ALFRED SLANETZ
CEO, Geneius Biotechnology
Former CEO, Bluebird Bio
Former Director of Product Development, Genetech
Board Member, National Foundation for Cancer Research
Dr. Alfred Slanetz is the founder, president, and chief executive officer of Geneius and has been since its incorporation. He also has served as a director on Geneius’s board since its incorporation in 2012. Geneius, an immuno-oncology start-up, is researching ways to help cancer patients’ immune systems detect and attack cancer cells. This new therapy is dubbed Targeted DiversiTy and when combined with surgery, it promises to change the difficult process or surgery, drugs and radiation that is the current standard.
Between 2006 and 2011 Dr. Slanetz was President and CEO at Bluebird Bio. He served as President and CEO of Genetix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He served as Vice President, Business Development of TRANSGENE in May 1996. From 1994 to 1996, he served as Manager, New Product Planning and Development at Genentech Inc. Prior to that, Dr. Slanetz was a Management Consultant for Arthur D. Little.
In 1993 Dr. Slanetz received his Ph.D. in Molecular and Immunobiology from Yale University. He earned his Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Brown University in 1986. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Hamilton College.
CHRISTIAN APFEL, MD, PHD, MBA
Chairman, Life Sciences, Keiretsu Forum
CEO, SageMedic
Professor, University of California San Francisco (UCSF)
Christian Apfel is internationally recognized for changing medical practice by bringing innovation to millions of patients by designing and executing on highest quality clinical research. One of his most notable innovations, the “Apfel Score,” is now used in clinical practice globally. Chris has turned his attention to precision medicine and is the founder and CEO of SageMedic Corporation. SageMedic redefines precision medicine with its SAGE Direct Platform™ to help millions of cancer patients to identify the most effective treatment by overcoming limitations inherent to genome-driven targeted therapy. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and is an Adjunct Professor at UCSF. He is an investor with Life Science Angels and the chair of the life science committee at the Keiretsu Forum. Chris is a California licensed physician and received his MD/PhD from Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Germany, and his an MBA from Wharton, University of Pennsylvania, PA.