Arie Belldegrun

Arie S. Belldegrun
Born	1949 (age 65–66) Israel
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Citizenship	Israeli and American
Alma mater	Hadassah Medical Center Weizmann Institute of Science
Years active	1988-present
Religion	Jewish
Spouse(s)	Rebecka Belldegrun
Children	4

Arie S. Belldegrun (born 1949), MD, FACS, is an Israeli-American urologic oncologist, professor, and entrepreneur.

Early life and academia

Belldegrun was born in Israel. He received his medical degree from the Hadassah Medical Center at Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1974, and conducted his post-graduate studies at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1979.^[1] He completed his Urologic Surgery residency at Harvard Medical School in 1985, and his Surgical Oncology fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in 1988.^[1] He is certified by the American Board of Urology, and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons.^[2][3] Belldegrun is the Director of the UCLA Institute of Urologic Oncology, Professor of Urology, and Chief of the Division of Urologic Oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine.^[4][5][6]

Career ventures

Agensys

In 1996, Belldegrun founded Agensys, an early-stage privately held biotechnology company based in Los Angeles, that is focused on the development of fully human monoclonal antibodies to treat solid tumor cancers in a variety of cancer targets. He served as its founding Chairman of the Board of Directors from 1996 to 2002, and then as a Director until December 2007, when Agensys was acquired by Astellas Pharma in a deal valued at $537 million.^[7][8]

Cougar Biotechnology

Belldegrun has been a founding Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of Cougar Biotechnology since 2003, a Los Angeles-based company with a focus in the field of oncology. In July 2009, the company was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in a $970 million transaction. In April 2011, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved Abiraterone Acetate (Zytiga), Cougar’s lead product, for late stage prostate cancer.^[9][10]

Two River

Since 2008, Belldegrun has been the Chairman and Partner of Two River, a New York-based venture capital firm and merchant bank focused on the life science sector. It specializes in investments in life science, biotechnology, and in firms focused on developing preventative and therapeutic technologies for a broad spectrum of disease areas including oncology, cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, and companion animal health care.^[11]

Kite Pharma

Belldegrun is the Chairman, President and CEO of Kite Pharma (NASDAQ: KITE) which he founded in 2009. Kite Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of novel cancer immunotherapy products with a primary focus on engineered autologous T cell therapy (eACT™) designed to restore the immune system's ability to recognize and eradicate tumors.^[12] The company went public in June 2014. Belldegrun, who owns 6.38 million shares of the company, has a stake worth over $400 million today.^[13]

Other board memberships

Belldegrun also serves as a member of the following boards:^[14]

• Teva (NYSE: TEVA) - Director and Chairman of the Science & Technology Committee (since February 2013)
• Arno Therapeutics (OTCBB: ARNI) - Chairman (since March 2008)
• TheraCoat - Chairman (since October 2012)
• Oncura - Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board
• Roei Medical Technologies - Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board

In the past, Belldegrun served as a member of a number of boards, including:^[14]

• SonaCare Medical - Director and Urological Advisor (September 2009 to 2014)
• Nile Therapeutics - Director (September 2009 to November 2013)
• Talon Therapeutics - Director, Chairman of the Compensation Committee and member of the Nominating & Governance Committee (April 2004 to December 2009)
• Paramount Acquisition - Director (June 2005 to January 2008)
• Chem Rx Corporation - Director (2005-2008)
• RENCAREX at Wilex AG - Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board
• Email Real Estate.com - Director

Recent business

• In May 2013, TheraCoat, a clinical stage specialty pharmaceutical company of which Belldegrun is the Chairman, has raised $7 million in capital from private investors and venture funds.^[15]

• Also in May, Kite Pharma completed a $35 million financing of Series A preferred stock.^[16]

• In October 2013, Arno Therapeutics completed a $30.7 million financing of equity.^[17]

• In November 2013, Nile Therapeutics completed a merger with Capricor to form Capricor Therapeutics (OTCBB: CAPR). Capricor has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nile.^[18]

• In February 2014, Velcera, a portfolio company of Two River, was acquired by Perrigo for $160 million.^[19]

• In June 2014, Kite Pharma sold 8,625,000 shares in their IPO at $17.00 per share, for net proceeds of $134.1 million.^[20][21][22] The company listed on the NASDAQ Global market under the symbol “KITE.”

Personal life

Belldegrun is married to Dr. Rebecka Belldegrun and together they have four children.^[5] They reside in Bel Air,^[23] a small community of Los Angeles. Their oldest son, Ben Belldegrun, a hedge fund manager, is married to Kelly Bergantz, senior producer for Syco.^[24]

Belldegrun has written over 400 scientific publications related to urologic oncology, and has authored several books on prostate and kidney cancers.^[25][26] He was one of the speakers at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2013,^[27] delivered the keynote Andrew C. Novick Memorial Lecture at the Ninth International Kidney Cancer Symposium,^[28] and presented at the 32nd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.^[29]

References

External links

• Arie Belldegrun on Forbes