Speaker Profile
M.D., Co-Founder, Executive Chairman, Co-Chair of Scientific Advisory Board, ReIGNITE
Biography
David Kirn, MD, is co-founder and has served as Chief Executive Officer since inception in 2013. Dr. Kirn is also Professor of Bioengineering and Molecular Cellular Biology (Adjunct) at UC Berkeley where he teaches biotechnology entrepreneurship, including in the Robinson Life Sciences Business Entrepreneurship Program. He is a board director and co-Founder of the UC Berkeley Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center. Over his 30 year career, Dr. Kirn has co-founded and been CEO of four viral vector-based genetic medicines companies, three of which to date were either acquired or went public. Dr. Kirn also held senior clinical research and development positions at Onyx Pharmaceuticals (VP) and Celgene (SVP), and was a senior consultant and strategic advisor on viral vector-based genetic medicines to Novartis, Bayer, Pfizer, Biogen and others. Dr. Kirn received a BA in Physiology (Departmental Citation; Phi Beta Kappa) from UC Berkeley, an MD (Alpha Omega Alpha) from UC San Francisco Medical School and completed internal medicine residency training at Harvard Medical School, Brigham Womens Hospital (including term as Chief Medical Resident at affiliated WRVA hospital). He completed medical oncology and clinical research fellowships at UC San Francisco, and he completed a certificate of business excellence from the Haas Business School at UC Berkeley. He was awarded the Johnson Johnson Entrepreneur Innovator award from the JJ Innovation Center, was named to The Medicine Maker Power List, Advanced Medicine in 2022, and was a 2024 Pharma Voice 100 honoree in the Standout Leaders category.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2026 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
Ira Mellman, Medici Therapeutics
PMWC Award Ceremony
• Jedd D. Wolchok, Weill Cornell Medicine
• Suzanne Topalian, Johns Hopkins
• Levi Garraway, Roche
Keynote: Future Breakthroughs in Immuno-Oncology: New Targets, Modalities & Combinations
• Levi Garraway, Roche
Targeting the Tumor Microenvironment (TME) in Practice: Biomarkers & Combos
• Chair: Ira Mellman, Medici Therapeutics
• Dmitry Gabrilovich, AstraZeneca
• Jennifer Mataraza, Novartis
Immunotherapy with Personalized Cancer Vaccines: Who, When, How Fast?
• Chair: Suzanne Topalian, Johns Hopkins
• Tal Zaks, Orbimed
• Lelia Delamarre, Genentech
The Next Era: Neutralizing On-Target, Off-Tumor Effects by Turning Cancer Against Itself
• Cyriac Roeding, Earli
Fireside Chat: Immune Tolerance to Cure, A Conversation With...
• Lee Hood, Institute for Systems Biology
• Mary E. Brunkow, Institute for Systems Biology
ADCs in the Checkpoint Era: Who Benefits, What to Combine, What to Avoid
• Chair: Shreya Badhrinarayanan, Pfizer
• Gerold Meinhardt, Daiichi Sankyo
• Vadim Koshkin, UCSF
Strategic IP Management in Cell and Gene Therapy: Navigating Legal and Practical Challenges
• Janet Xiao, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Checkpoint 2.0 in Practice: PD-1+VEGF Wins, Resistance Salvage & Biomarker Gates
• Chair: Anne Kasmar, Parexel
• Jedd D. Wolchok, Weill Cornell Medicine
• Roy S. Herbst, Yale
Future Breakthroughs in TME Reprogramming: New Modalities, Smarter Delivery & Overcoming Resistance
• David Kirn, ReIGNITE
Radiopharmaceutical Therapy: New Targets, Isotopes, and Challenges
• Chair: William Oh, Yale
• Munir Ghesani, United Theranostics
• Sandy Srinivas, Stanford
• Anna Karmann, AdvanCell
