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AmirAli Talasaz

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AmirAli Talasaz
Born1978, 1979 Edit this on Wikidata
EducationDoctor of Philosophy Edit this on Wikidata
Alma mater
OccupationEntrepreneur, chief executive officer, electrical engineer, researcher, chair Edit this on Wikidata
Employer

AmirAli Talasaz is an entrepreneur in the field of clinical diagnostics. He founded the startup Auriphex Biosciences and is co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Guardant Health.

Education

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Talasaz studied electrical engineering at Sharif University in Tehran and later attended Stanford University from 2001 to 2007, where he earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Prior to attending Stanford, he was introduced to Ronald W. Davis of the university's Genome Technology Center by Mostafa Ronaghi, who later became chief technology officer at Illumina, Inc.[1]

Career

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Talasaz is an electrical engineer and researcher.[1][2] Leena Rao of TechCrunch has described him as a "serial" entrepreneur in the fields of clinical research and sample preparation.[3] Talasaz worked at the Genome Technology Center until 2009, when he founded Auriphex Biosciences, which developed methods for isolating cancer cells from blood.[1] He also worked for Illumina from March 2009 to June 2012.[4]

In 2012-2013, Talasaz and Helmy Eltoukhy co-founded Guardant Health, which develops technology to detect and diagnose cancer via blood tests,[5] during 2012–2013.[6][7] The duo met at Stanford in 2002 and worked together at Illumina, until Talasaz left in 2012.[8] According to John Dorfman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Talasaz and Eltoukhy discovered a liquid biopsy technique which "involves detecting and monitoring tumor fragments circulating in the patient's bloodstream", as an alternative to traditional tissue biopsies.[9] Talasaz was first the president and chief technology officer of Guardant Health.[10][11] He held the president, chief financial officer, and chief operating officer positions in 2019, when he and Eltoukhy collectively held 12 percent of Guardant Health's stock.[12][13] In 2021, both spent $10 million to purchase additional shares of the company.[9] Talasaz and Eltoukhy are now co-chief executive officers.[6]

In 2022, Illumina sued Guardant Health and its co-founders in Delaware federal court over trade secrets. Illumina accused the duo of incorporating Guardant Health anonymously in 2011, while working at Illumina and stealing confidential documents related to DNA sequencing technology to acquire 35 patents.[8] In response, Guardant Health rejected the claims, accused Illumina of attempting to eliminate competitors, and asked for a suit dismissal.[14][15] In 2023, the two companies settled, signed a long-term supply agreement, and agreed to share specimen samples for cancer research.[16]

Board service and recognition

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Talasaz has served on Guardant Health's board of directors since January 2013, occupying the chairman role until August 2021.[17] He also serves on the board of uLab Systems,[18] and is a founding member of the World Innovations Network.[19]

In 2017, Talasaz and Eltoukhy ranked number 37 in Fortune magazine's "40 Under 40" list.[20] The duo were also included in Time magazine's 2018 "Health Care 50" list, which recognizes people for transforming health care.[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Herper, Matthew (November 12, 2018). "A $3 Billion Startup's Shares Gain On Hopes For A Cancer Blood Test". Forbes. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  2. ^ May, Mike (March 26, 2021). "Catching cancer extremely early". Science. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  3. ^ "Sequoia-Backed Guardant Health Wants to Improve Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis Via a New Blood Test". TechCrunch. February 11, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  4. ^ Freeman, Mike (March 22, 2022). "Illumina launches lawsuit against Guardant Health claiming misappropriation of trade secrets". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  5. ^ Cha, Ariana Eunjung (April 28, 2016). "There's a new sheriff in town in Silicon Valley — the FDA". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Huard, Ray (April 28, 2022). "Guardant Health Scaling Up in San Diego". San Diego Business Journal. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  7. ^ Bindi, Tas (May 11, 2017). "Guardant Health raises $360m to sequence tumour DNA from cancer patients". ZDNet. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Brittain, Blake (March 17, 2022). "Illumina sues Guardant Health, founders over trade secrets". Reuters. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Dorfman, John (December 6, 2021). "John Dorfman: CEOs buy their own shares at loanDepot, Uber". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  10. ^ Leuty, Ron (April 23, 2014). "Khosla, Sequoia back 'liquid biopsy' startup Guardant Health in $30 million round". San Francisco Business Times. American City Business Journals. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  11. ^ Pollack, Andrew (April 7, 2014). "Sidestepping the Biopsy With New Tools to Spot Cancer". The New York Times. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  12. ^ "Guardant Health Takes Aim at Exact Sciences". The Motley Fool. May 11, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2022 – via Fox Business.
  13. ^ "New Lung Ambition Alliance Aims to Double Five-year Lung Cancer Survival by 2025". Imaging Technology News. July 17, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  14. ^ Wosen, Jonathan (May 26, 2022). "Guardant accuses Illumina of 'brazen' attempt to quash competition in ongoing legal battle". Stat. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  15. ^ Leuty, Ron (May 27, 2022). "In cancer detection showdown, Guardant Health seeks dismissal of 'sham' Illumina lawsuit". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  16. ^ Brittain, Blake (August 3, 2023). "Guardant Health settles Illumina lawsuit over gene-sequencing technology". Reuters. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  17. ^ "AmirAli Talasaz". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  18. ^ "uLab Team". uLab Systems. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  19. ^ "About Us: WIN Team". World Innovations Network. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  20. ^ "40 Under 40: Rank 37: Helmy Eltoukhy and AmirAli Talasaz". Fortune. 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  21. ^ "Health Care 50: Helmy Eltoukhy and AmirAli Talasaz". Time. Retrieved June 2, 2022.

Further reading

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