Healthcare >> CEO Interviews >> June 2, 2003
GARO H. ARMEN is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Antigenics Inc. which he co-founded with Pramod Srivastava in
1994. In 1990, Dr. Armen established a money management firm
which specialized in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical
industries. In addition, Dr. Armen has provided advisory services
to several companies including Immunex, American Cyanamid, Forest
Laboratories and Ivax. In 1993, he was architect of a widely
publicized transaction: the creation of the Immunex Lederle
oncology business. He was also an advisor to PerSeptive
Biosystems in its restructuring. He began a career on Wall Street
in 1981 as an Analyst at E.F. Hutton. Subsequently, he moved to
Dean Witter Reynolds as Senior Vice President of Research,
leading a team of professionals specializing in the chemical and
pharmaceutical industries. Dr. Armen received a PhD in
Biochemistry from the Graduate Center, City University of New
York. He was then appointed Research Fellow at Brookhaven
National Laboratories on Long Island, where his work centered on
the fields of photosynthesis and energy production. Profile
TWST: We'd like to begin with a brief historical sketch ofAntigenics and an overview of things as they are now.
Dr. Armen: I founded the company along with Pramod Srivastava,
who is the