Marc Better, Ph.D.

Dr. Better is a biotechnology professional with more than 30 years’ experience in cell therapy and biologics CMC.  Most recently, Dr. Better was Senior Vice President, Product Sciences at Kite, a Gilead Company, where he led process and analytical development, process characterization and process validation activities leading to the successful US licensure of Yescarta, a first in class anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapy.  Dr. Better joined Kite in Jan 2013 where he brought experience in biologics CMC; upstream, downstream, analytical and drug product development; GMP manufacturing; commercial manufacturing support; technology transfer; contract manufacturing; and regulatory interactions. Dr. Better has a record of strong business skills and technical depth.  He is a strategic thinker and innovator, with a track record of technology development and continuous improvement implementation. In previous roles, Dr. Better has a proven record building high performance teams, internal and external collaborations and corporate partnerships.  He is also experienced authoring and reviewing regulatory documents for global submission, and working with regulatory agencies in the US, Europe, Japan and China.  His expertise also includes working with CMOs as a customer and as a provider. Prior to joining Kite, Dr. Better was Executive Director, Process Science at Boehringer Ingelheim, Executive Director, Process Development at Amgen and in key leadership roles at both Abgenix and XOMA.   Dr. Better received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Brandeis University and holds a B.S in Microbiology from Michigan State University.