Speaker Profile
Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO, Kelonia Tx
Biography
Kevin Friedman leads a cutting-edge in vivo gene delivery company focused on advancing both the therapeutic benefits of and ease of patient access to transformative genetic medicines. Kevin is an experienced drug developer and recognized leader in cell and gene therapy. He has prior experience building and managing the oncology gene therapy pipeline as VP of Oncology Research and Development at Bluebird Bio where he was responsible for developing several medicines including the first approved anti-BCMA CAR T cell for treatment of Multiple Myeloma (Abecma). Kevin received his PhD from Oregon Health and Sciences University and was trained in the Surgery branch at the National Cancer Institute. Kevins name appears on numerous patents and publications from throughout his over twenty years of experience working in cell and gene therapies.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2025 Silicon Valley
Track Co-Chairs:
Yael Weiss, Mahzi Tx
Morten Sogaard, Astellas Gene Therapies
- PMWC 2025 Award Ceremony
Pioneer Honoree: James M. Wilson, University of Pennsylvania
Luminary Honoree: Carolyn Bertozzi, Stanford
- Keynote: Bioorthogonal Chemistry, from Basic Science to Clinical Translation
- Carolyn Bertozzi, Stanford
- Keynote: The Promise of Genetic Medicines Unless You're Too Poor or Too Rare
- James M. Wilson, University of Pennsylvania
- Reimbursement for Genetic Medicines in Rare Diseases
Chair:
- Erin Satterwhite, Optum Specialty Pharmacy
- Next-Generation Delivery Systems for Gene Therapies (PANEL)
Chair: Morten Sogaard, Astellas
- Mathieu Nonnenmacher, Voyager Therapeutics
- Kevin Friedman, Kelonia Therapeutics
- Kunwoo Lee, GenEdit
- Haig Aghajanian, Capstan Therapeutics
- James M. Wilson, University of Pennsylvania
- Beyond the Genome: Harnessing Epigenetics in Rare Disease Treatment (PANEL)
Chair: Charles Gersbach, Duke
- Prashant Mali, UCSD
- Nadav Ahituv, UCSF
- Blythe Sather, Tune Therapeutics
- Fyodor D Urnov, Berkely University
- Navigating the Regulatory Landscape for Gene and Cell Therapies (PANEL)
Chair: Yael Weiss, Mahzi Tx
- Courtney Silverthorn, Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium (BGTC)
- Peter Marks, FDA
- Ben Dewees, Kyverna Therapeutics
- AI-driven Improvements in Gene and Cell Therapy (PANEL)
Chair: Morten Sogaard, Astellas
- Francois Vigneault, Shape Therapeutics
- John Androsavich, Ginkgo Bioworks
- Yogev Debbi, mana.bio
