Dr. Levine is co-inventor of the first CAR T-cell therapy approved to treat cancer.
STAMFORD, Conn., Jan. 9, 2024 — Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT) welcomes Bruce L. Levine, PhD (University of Pennsylvania), to the foundation’s 16-person Board of Directors, bringing to it his trailblazing experience in the field of cancer cell and gene therapy.
“I am honored to have been elected to the ACGT Board of Directors,” says Dr. Levine. “Founded by philanthropic visionaries Barbara and Edward Netter, I look forward to supporting the ACGT mission to drive cutting edge cancer gene therapy and immunotherapy toward a cancer-free future.”
Dr. Levine is the Barbara and Edward Netter Professor in Cancer Gene Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and the Founding Director of the Clinical Cell and Vaccine Production Facility (CVPF) in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Abramson Cancer Center. He received a degree in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in Immunology and Infectious Diseases from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
His first-in-human adoptive immunotherapy trials include the first use of a lentiviral vector, the first infusions of gene-edited cells, and the first use of lentiviral-modified cells to treat cancer. Dr. Levine is also co-inventor of Kymriah, the first FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapy for cancer. Kymriah, licensed to Novartis, is approved for leukemia and lymphoma.
Dr. Levine is co-inventor on 31 issued U.S. patents and co-author of more than 200 manuscripts and book chapters with a Google Scholar citation h-index of 108. He is a Co-Founder of Tmunity Therapeutics and of Capstan Therapeutics, both spinouts of the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Levine is a recipient of the William Osler Patient Oriented Research Award, the Wallace H. Coulter Award for Healthcare Innovation, the National Marrow Donor Program/Be The Match ONE Forum 2020 Dennis Confer Innovate Award, the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy Jerry Mendell Award for Translational Science, and serves as Immediate Past-President of the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy. He has written for Scientific American and Wired and has been interviewed by the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR, Time Magazine, National Geographic, Bloomberg, Forbes, BBC, and other international media outlets.
“Dr. Bruce Levine has been instrumental in groundbreaking advancements in the field of cancer cell and gene therapy,” says Kevin Honeycutt, ACGT chief executive officer and president. “He will bring invaluable insight and perspective to our Board of Directors.”
ACGT’s Board of Directors provides sound governance, advocacy and stewardship to advance the organization’s mission and ensure its sustainability. The integrated perspectives of these influential innovators reflect the breadth of the organization’s stakeholders – from world class scientists, biotech and pharma leaders to venture capitalists, philanthropists and patient advocates.
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Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT)
For more than 20 years, Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT) has funded scientific research to bring innovative treatment options using cancer cell and gene therapy to people living with deadly cancers. These treatments continue to save the lives of many blood cancer patients and offer new hope to all people diagnosed with cancer. Founded by Barbara and Edward Netter after their daughter-in-law’s untimely passing from breast cancer, ACGT funds talented visionaries whose scientific advancements are driving the development of groundbreaking treatments for glioblastoma, melanoma, sarcoma, lung, prostate, pediatric, pancreatic and women’s cancers.
100% of all public funds raised by Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy directly support research and programs. For more information, visit acgtfoundation.org, call (203) 358-5055, or join the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy community on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
