HANS KEIRSTEAD
CEO
AIVITA BIOMEDICAL
WHY: Internationally known stem cell expert who has led therapy development for late-stage cancers, immune disorders, motor neuron diseases, spinal cord injury and retinal diseases.
IN THE NEWS: Serves as chairman of Immunis, an Irvine-based biotech firm that uses multi-active biologics to address age-driven diseases and immune dysfunction. Investigational drug IMM01-STEM claims to reduce fat while preserving muscle. Says weight loss in drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy “shrink fat, but they also shrink muscle.” The drug is in Phase 2 of a clinical trial at sites that include Hoag Orthopedics in Irvine and the National Institutes of Clinical Research (NICR) in Garden Grove and Pomona.
NOTABLE: 2022 Business Journal Innovator of the Year Award winner. Instrumental in founding, directing, and fundraising the $77M Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center at UCI. Secured over $16M in research grants while at UCI and was honored with the “Distinguished Award for Research,” the highest accolade from UCI’s Academic Senate.
QUOTABLE: “I think we all understand that we get better with age. We become more physically, intellectually and emotionally competent. It’s one of the most beautiful things that life gives us. Our mission at Immunis is to preserve all of that while reversing or preventing the physical and cognitive loss that comes with advanced age.”
