David Kirn MD

David Kirn is a biotechnology entrepreneur, physician-scientist and leader in therapeutic viral vector R&D. He is co-Founder, CEO & Chairman of both 4D Molecular Therapeutics, a leader in targeted AAV gene therapy, & IGNITE Immunotherapy. He is also an adjunct Professor of Bioengineering at UC Berkeley. He co-founded four companies in the field, and received the Johnson & Johnson Entrepreneur Innovator Award from the J&J Innovation Center.

Over the last 20 years, Dr. Kirn has been a leader in therapeutic viruses and oncolytic cancer vaccines. He has led the design and development of roughly 10 therapeutic virus products for cancer oncolysis and/or immunotherapy, involving over 750 patients, including leading clinical trials from first-in-human studies to Phase 3 randomized trials. He was Founder & CEO of Jennerex, a pioneer in oncolytic immunotherapy for cancer, where he led the development of JX-594 (Pexa-Vec; engineered vaccinia virus) from concept into Phase 3. Pexa-Vec was the first armed oncolytic virus to demonstrate 1) intravenous (IV) tumor targeting and efficacy (Nature, 2011), and 2) a significant overall survival benefit in a randomized clinical trial (Nature Medicine 2013).