Max Tejada - Biologics & Bioassays

Max Tejada, PhD is Senior Director at Kite Pharma, an American biotech company and subsidiary of Gilead Sciences that develops cancer immunotherapies with a primary focus on genetically engineered adoptive T-cell therapies called CAR-T therapies. Dr. Tejada broke into the private sector by landing an industry postdoctoral fellowship at Genentech in the lab of Dr. Napoleone Ferrara, who is widely recognized for his role in developing the angiogenesis inhibitor Avastin (bevacizumab). He subsequently led teams that devised bioassays for development and high volume production of antibody-based drugs at Genentech, Gilead, and AstraZeneca as well as for cell therapies at Kite Pharma. We explore the various roles and responsibilities in R&D, the difference between “leaders versus managers”, and how you can keep on building technical expertise to match the speed of innovation in the biotech industry.Hosted by Roshan Chikarmane and Jenna Glatzer.