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Bio Blast
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Addimmune Summary
Jeff Galvin, the CEO of American Gene Technologies and it’s HIV division Addimmune discusses his career path from working in Silicon Valley to becoming involved in the biotech sector. He initially discovered computers in his junior high school and was fascinated by their potential to improve lives. This passion for technology led him to teach computer programming classes at MIT at a young age. After graduating from Harvard, he leveraged his teaching experience to land a software quality engineer role at Hewlett-Packard. However, his career trajectory shifted when he encountered Apple Computers, which ignited his entrepreneurial spirit.
Galvin eventually retired in his 40s and moved to Hawaii, but found retirement to be unfulfilling. He then returned to work and became interested in gene and cell therapy after learning about viral vectors. He was impressed by the potential of viral vectors to deliver new genetic material to human cells. This newfound interest led him to found American Gene Technologies.
The company’s focus is on creating gene and cell therapy solutions through a platform approach. They believe this will streamline the development process and make gene and cell therapies more efficient. One future application Galvin discussed is using gene therapy to treat HIV. Ultimately, AGT’s goal is to create a large portfolio of gene and cell therapy solutions across various diseases.
The interview also touched on the challenges Galvin has faced in the biotech industry, such as fundraising and navigating the cultural differences between business and science. However, he highlights the potential of gene and cell therapy to revolutionize medicine and expresses his optimism for the future of the field. AGT was recently nominated as a finalist for the BioBuzz Awards, which is a recognition of the company’s achievements in the gene and cell therapy space.
You can watch the full interview here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVeltfF5LXw