About the speaker: Dr. Chris Crowell is a highly experienced pharmaceutical executive who currently holds the positions of VP of Operations and Site Head of EU Manufacturing, as well as Managing Director at Kite Pharma, a subsidiary of Gilead Sciences. With a remarkable track record of success, he has played a crucial role in the development and manufacturing of cutting-edge immunotherapies for cancer patients. Throughout his distinguished career, he has held various leadership positions at Kite Pharma and Amgen, where he accumulated over 23 years of experience. His expertise encompasses drug substance, quality assurance, process development, operations, and more. He earned his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the prestigious University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Additionally, he holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from UC Santa Barbara, demonstrating his strong academic background and unwavering dedication to the pharmaceutical industry.

About the company: Kite Pharma, a subsidiary of Gilead Sciences, is a biotechnology company that specializes in developing cancer immunotherapy products, with a primary focus on genetically engineered autologous T cell therapy with chimeric antigen receptors. One of Kite Pharma’s notable products is Yescarta, which was the first CAR T-cell therapy to be approved by the FDA for the treatment of certain types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In 2017, Kite Pharma was acquired by Gilead Sciences for $12 billion, in what was considered a revolutionary endorsement of cancer treatment. The acquisition helped to further advance Kite Pharma’s research and development efforts in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Gilead Sciences, the parent company of Kite Pharma, is a prominent American biotechnology company that is ranked 306 on the Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue. The company focuses primarily on developing and commercializing drugs, with a primary focus on antiviral drugs used in the treatment of HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and influenza, including Harvoni and Sovaldi. With its acquisition of Kite Pharma, Gilead Sciences has further established itself as a leading player in the development of cancer therapies.

Employees: 2,000+

Revenue: $1.2B