Ernst & Young LLP (EY) announced that Arie Belldegrun, MD, FACS, visionary surgeon, scientist and life sciences entrepreneur, will be honored with the prestigious Master Entrepreneur Award during the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 Greater Los Angeles Awards gala on Thursday, June 14, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel.

The Master Entrepreneur Award is an exclusive designation by the Entrepreneur Of The Year judging panel bestowed upon an individual who distinctly outperforms the customary characteristics of an entrepreneur, exemplifies leadership at its best, drives a successful business or brand with notable longevity and greatly contributes to the local economy and community.

“Arie embodies the essence of exceptional entrepreneurship, and we’re delighted to present him with this honor,” said Scott Porter, Entrepreneur Of The Year Program Director and Partner at Ernst & Young LLP. “We commend him for his passion and commitment to strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Los Angeles and creating advancements in life sciences that benefit millions of people around the world.”

An Israeli-born American urologic oncologist, businessman, investor and philanthropist, Arie is the true epitome of a Master Entrepreneur. He has founded several successful ventures that have led to breakthroughs in the life sciences space and have gone on to successful exits, including Agensys, Inc., which was established in 1996 and acquired by Astellas Pharma in 2007 in a deal valued at $537 million; Cougar Biotechnology, acquired by Johnson & Johnson in a $970 million transaction in 2009; and Kite Pharma, which went public in 2014 and, in October 2017, was acquired by Gilead Sciences in the largest ever pre-commercial biopharmaceutical acquisition for $11.9 billion.

Arie’s most recent venture, Allogene Therapeutics, has a mission to catalyze the next revolution in cancer treatment through the development of allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy directed at blood cancers and solid tumors. Allogene has already raised $300 million in Series A fundraising, one of the largest Series A financings in biotechnology.

Arie is also an active investor and advisor in the life sciences space. He serves as Executive Chairman of both Allogene Therapeutics and UroGen Pharma, and is Chairman and Partner of Two River and a Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director of Vida Ventures. He is also a member of the Strategic Advisory Group for the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.

In addition to continuing his entrepreneurial efforts, Arie has spent significant time as a surgeon and scientist. He is a Professor of Urology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he also holds the Roy and Carol Doumani Chair in Urologic Oncology and is Director of the Institute of Urologic Oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine. He has written more than 500 scientific publications related to urologic oncology and has authored several books on prostate and kidney cancers.

Along with his wife, Dr. Rebecka Belldegrun, and their children, the family has focused their philanthropic efforts on life sciences, education and the arts, donating millions of dollars to organizations such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences.

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To see the list of Entrepreneur Of The Year Greater Los Angeles finalists who will be celebrated at the black tie Awards gala on June 14 and purchase tickets to the event, please visit www.ey.com/us/eoy/greaterla.