Armon Sharei's guest appearances

Armon Sharei

Angel Invest Boston

The Onco'Zine Brief

Biotech 2050 Podcast

David Chang

Brad Feld

Jason Calacanis

Jeff Coyle

Catherine White

Robert Gould

Jim Burns

David Berry

David Bates

Jim Sullivan

Tim Sweeney

Tim Miller

Johnny Appleseed

Ed Roberts

Semyon Dukach

OwlTail

Armon Sharei, PhD, is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of SQZ Biotechnologies, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on unlocking the full potential of cell therapies for patients around the world and has active programs in Oncology, Autoimmune and Infectious Diseases, and other serious conditions.SQZ Biotech was founded on Dr. Sharei’s doctoral research at MIT and leverages the broad capabilities of the CellSqueeze® technology to enable a diverse pipeline of antigen-specific cell therapies.SQZ Biotech and the CellSqueeze® platform have been named as one of Scientific American’s Top 10 World Changing Ideas (2014), Fierce Biotech’s Fierce 15 (2015), and a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer (2017). The technology has also been highlighted in numerous scientific publications, such as Nature and PNAS.Dr. Sharei received his BS in Chemical Engineering with Honors and Distinction from Stanford University. He earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering from MIT in the laboratories of Professors Klavs Jensen and Robert Langer where he created and implemented the CellSqueeze® technology as a novel method for rapid and flexible cell engineering.Prior to joining SQZ Biotech as CEO, Dr. Sharei completed a Ragon Institute postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School in the laboratory of Ulrich von Andrian. Dr. Sharei has published 19 peer-reviewed publications and is the inventor on 20 patent families. He has been recognized in INC. Magazine’s 30 under 30, Endpoints 40 under 40, and Forbes Magazine’s 30 under 30 in Healthcare.

Armon Sharei, PhD, is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of SQZ Biotechnologies, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on unlocking the full potential of cell therapies for patients around the world and has active programs in Oncology, Autoimmune and Infectious Diseases, and other serious conditions. SQZ Biotech was founded on Dr. Sharei’s doctoral research at MIT and leverages the broad capabilities of the CellSqueeze® technology to enable a diverse pipeline of antigen-specific cell therapies. SQZ Biotech and the CellSqueeze® platform have been named as one of Scientific American’s Top 10 World Changing Ideas (2014), Fierce Biotech’s Fierce 15 (2015), and a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer (2017). The technology has also been highlighted in numerous scientific publications, such as Nature and PNAS. Dr. Sharei received his BS in Chemical Engineering with Honors and Distinction from Stanford University. He earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering from MIT in the laboratories of Professors Klavs Jensen and Robert Langer where he created and implemented the CellSqueeze® technology as a novel method for rapid and flexible cell engineering. Prior to joining SQZ Biotech as CEO, Dr. Sharei completed a Ragon Institute postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School in the laboratory of Ulrich von Andrian. Dr. Sharei has published 19 peer-reviewed publications and is the inventor on 20 patent families. He has been recognized in INC. Magazine’s 30 under 30, Endpoints 40 under 40, and Forbes Magazine’s 30 under 30 in Healthcare.

75. Innovations in cell therapies via microfluidics, Armon Sharei, CEO and Founder, SQZ Biotech

Join Sal Daher's Investment Syndicate List: Click to Join SQZ's successful IPO validates the vision laid out by Armon Sharei, PhD in this interview recorded two years ago. In accessible language, this genius founder explains the approach that has big strategic players excited. SQZ is the model I have in mind when I invest in biotech companies. Find out why.  Armon Sharei wants to train our immune system to fight cancer. We hear a lot of claims like this, however when a mega-pharmaceutical company like Roche inks a $500 million deal to work on it, we pay attention. At age 29, Armon convinced not only Roche but gimlet-eyed VCs to back him. How did he do this? How did he go from a boy living in Iran to being one of the stars of MIT’s storied Langer Lab? Part of Armon’s secret is the ability to explain thickly complex ideas in accessible language that does not over simplify. He is that rarest of creatures, a scientist of the first rank who speaks lucidly and acts practically. I am grateful that Armon took time out from curing cancer to share his experiences with us in this inspiring interview. If you are a scientist thinking of founding a company or an investor thinking of investing in a biotech startup you could learn a lot by listening to this interview with Armon Sharei and then going to AngelInvestBoston.com searching under the biotech topic. Among the topics covered are:  Armon Sharei Bio Childhood Spent in Iran &amp; Dubai, Finished High School in Marin County Why Armon Sharei Wanted to Be a Scientist Why Leave Edenic Bay Area for Purgatorial Boston? SQZ Technology Comes from Failed Attempt to Shoot Genetic Materials into Cells How the Idea of Starting a Company Came About “I think one of the main examples, which is kind of the subject we've been pursuing most deeply at the company in two different projects, is the idea of telling the immune system what to target in the context of cancer”. SQZ Technology Excels at Getting Protein Fragments into Cells – Very Promising Method of Training Our Immune System to Fight Cancer Sal Asks Listeners to Subscribe &amp; Review on iTunes – Podcast Has Great Guests &amp; Sound Biotech Fundraising Is Hard – Armon Sharei’s Advice on Fundraising Armon Sharei Finds a Lead Investor for His Angel Round SQZ Biotech’s Pivot from Selling their Tech as a Tool to Looking for Therapies “…over 70 or 80% of scientists want to put stuff into cells for some reason. I think aside from looking under a microscope there's nothing that they want to do more”. Therapy Research Is Risky, But Tool Business Was Harder Than It Looked, Besides Armon Really Wanted to Do Science The Board Was Essential in the Pivot from Being a Tool Company to Becoming a Therapy Company How Does a 29-Year-old Negotiate a $500 Million Deal with a Major Corporation? Hiring the Right People Is the Most Important Thing a Founder Does, Look for Cultural Fit 

Join Sal Daher's Investment Syndicate List: <a href="https://www.angelinvestboston.com/our-syndicates" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click to Join</a> SQZ's successful IPO validates the vision laid out by Armon Sharei, PhD in this interview recorded two years ago. In accessible language, this genius founder explains the approach that has big strategic players excited. SQZ is the model I have in mind when I invest in biotech companies. Find out why.  Armon Sharei wants to train our immune system to fight cancer. We hear a lot of claims like this, however when a mega-pharmaceutical company like Roche inks a $500 million deal to work on it, we pay attention. At age 29, Armon convinced not only Roche but gimlet-eyed VCs to back him. How did he do this? How did he go from a boy living in Iran to being one of the stars of MIT’s storied Langer Lab? Part of Armon’s secret is the ability to explain thickly complex ideas in accessible language that does not over simplify. He is that rarest of creatures, a scientist of the first rank who speaks lucidly and acts practically. I am grateful that Armon took time out from curing cancer to share his experiences with us in this inspiring interview. If you are a scientist thinking of founding a company or an investor thinking of investing in a biotech startup you could learn a lot by listening to this interview with Armon Sharei and then going to <a href="http://AngelInvestBoston.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">AngelInvestBoston.com</a> searching under the biotech topic. Among the topics covered are: <ul> <li>Armon Sharei Bio</li> <li>Childhood Spent in Iran &amp; Dubai, Finished High School in Marin County</li> <li>Why Armon Sharei Wanted to Be a Scientist</li> <li>Why Leave Edenic Bay Area for Purgatorial Boston?</li> <li>SQZ Technology Comes from Failed Attempt to Shoot Genetic Materials into Cells</li> <li>How the Idea of Starting a Company Came About</li> <li>“I think one of the main examples, which is kind of the subject we've been pursuing most deeply at the company in two different projects, is the idea of telling the immune system what to target in the context of cancer”.</li> <li>SQZ Technology Excels at Getting Protein Fragments into Cells – Very Promising Method of Training Our Immune System to Fight Cancer</li> <li>Sal Asks Listeners to Subscribe &amp; Review on iTunes – Podcast Has Great Guests &amp; Sound</li> <li>Biotech Fundraising Is Hard – Armon Sharei’s Advice on Fundraising</li> <li>Armon Sharei Finds a Lead Investor for His Angel Round</li> <li>SQZ Biotech’s Pivot from Selling their Tech as a Tool to Looking for Therapies</li> <li>“…over 70 or 80% of scientists want to put stuff into cells for some reason. I think aside from looking under a microscope there's nothing that they want to do more”.</li> <li>Therapy Research Is Risky, But Tool Business Was Harder Than It Looked, Besides Armon Really Wanted to Do Science</li> <li>The Board Was Essential in the Pivot from Being a Tool Company to Becoming a Therapy Company</li> <li>How Does a 29-Year-old Negotiate a $500 Million Deal with a Major Corporation?</li> <li>Hiring the Right People Is the Most Important Thing a Founder Does, Look for Cultural Fit</li> </ul>

SQZ's IPO bears out Armon Sharei's vision of empowering cells to change lives.

In this edition of The Onco’Zine Brief Peter Hofland, Ph.D. talks with Armon Sharei, Ph.D. Chief Executive Officer of SQZ Biotech, about the development and manufacturing of cell therapies. Traditionally, the foundation of cancer treatment included surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. But over the last few decades, targeted therapies —drugs that specifically target molecular changes seen primarily on cancer cells—have become a standard treatment for many cancers.In addition, over the past several years, immunotherapies—therapies that are designed to use the power of a patient's own immune system to attack cancer, have emerged as a new treatment.One of the rapidly emerging immunotherapy approaches is called adoptive cell transfer.  It is based on collecting and using patients' own immune cells to treat their cancer. Although there are several types of these therapies, one approach that has advanced the furthest in clinical development is called Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy or CAR T-cell therapy.In 2017, as the result of the remarkable responses seen in some patients—both children and adults— two CAR T-cell therapies were approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States.One treatment was approved for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and the other for adults with advanced lymphomas.  But given the unique and personalized approach, the Manufacturing of cell therapies is expensive and complex.  One reason is that because CAR T-cell therapies are hyper-personalized - using a patient’s own T-Cells - it may take 3 – 4 weeks, and sometimes even longer - to manufacture such a personalized and unique treatment option. And the manufacturing comes with a high price tag. So, scientists started to look for alternatives.Scientists at SQZ Biotech - a privately-held clinical-stage company are developing transformative cell therapy candidates for patients with cancer and other serious diseases. Hofland talks with Sharei about SQZ Biotech’s cell engineering platform which was named as a top 10 world-changing technology by Scientific American in 2014.SQZ Biotech’s approach could provide treatment options for patients across many different diseases, including, but not limited, to cancer and hematological malignancies. For more information about The Onco'Zine Brief or how to sponsor or support this public radio broadcast and podcast, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theoncozinebrief For more information about cancer and cancer treatments, visit our online journal Onco'Zine at www.oncozine.com

In this edition of The Onco’Zine Brief Peter Hofland, Ph.D. talks with Armon Sharei, Ph.D. Chief Executive Officer of SQZ Biotech, about the development and manufacturing of cell therapies. Traditionally, the foundation of cancer treatment included surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. But over the last few decades, targeted therapies —drugs that specifically target molecular changes seen primarily on cancer cells—have become a standard treatment for many cancers. In addition, over the past several years, immunotherapies—therapies that are designed to use the power of a patient's own immune system to attack cancer, have emerged as a new treatment. One of the rapidly emerging immunotherapy approaches is called adoptive cell transfer. It is based on collecting and using patients' own immune cells to treat their cancer. Although there are several types of these therapies, one approach that has advanced the furthest in clinical development is called Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy or CAR T-cell therapy. In 2017, as the result of the remarkable responses seen in some patients—both children and adults— two CAR T-cell therapies were approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States. One treatment was approved for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and the other for adults with advanced lymphomas. But given the unique and personalized approach, the Manufacturing of cell therapies is expensive and complex. One reason is that because CAR T-cell therapies are hyper-personalized - using a patient’s own T-Cells - it may take 3 – 4 weeks, and sometimes even longer - to manufacture such a personalized and unique treatment option. And the manufacturing comes with a high price tag. So, scientists started to look for alternatives. Scientists at SQZ Biotech - a privately-held clinical-stage company are developing transformative cell therapy candidates for patients with cancer and other serious diseases. Hofland talks with Sharei about SQZ Biotech’s cell engineering platform which was named as a top 10 world-changing technology by Scientific American in 2014. SQZ Biotech’s approach could provide treatment options for patients across many different diseases, including, but not limited, to cancer and hematological malignancies. For more information about The Onco'Zine Brief or how to sponsor or support this public radio broadcast and podcast, visit: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/theoncozinebrief" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/theoncozinebrief</a> For more information about cancer and cancer treatments, visit our online journal Onco'Zine at <a href="http://www.oncozine.com" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">www.oncozine.com</a>

Transforming Cell Therapy Manufacturing by “Squeezing” Cells: An Interview with Armon Sharei