Kenneth Grabstein, Ph.D. is currently Chief Scientific Officer of Allozyne Inc., a new biotechnology company that is developing technology to incorporate amino acid analogs into proteins using conventional protein manufacturing processes. The amino acid analogs provide the protein with new functional properties and sites for chemical modification. Allozyne Inc. is part of The Accelerator Corp. which has been responsible for starting several new biotechnology companies in the Seattle area. Dr. Grabstein is also a Co-Founder of Corixa Corporation. At Corixa Dr. Grabstein built and lead a research team of 100 scientists engaged in the discovery and development of immuno-therapeutics and played a central role in moving projects from concept or in-license to Phase I, II, III and approval. Corixa has an approved product on the market (Bexxar), a second product coming to the market this year (MPL adjuvant), and a full pipeline of products in clinical and preclinical development. Prior to his work at Corixa, Dr. Grabstein spent 12 years at Immunex, where he was Director of Immunology and was engaged in research involving the discovery and characterization of cytokines and other protein immuno-modulators, and their receptors. This work led to the development and approval of GM-CSF (Leukine) and TNF Receptor (Enbrel) which have become successful commercial products. Dr. Grabstein received his Ph.D. in Immunology from U.C. Berkeley followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Immunex Corporation in 1982 where he was one of the first 30 employees. Dr. Grabstein has an Affiliate Faculty position at both the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and serves on the University of Washington Medical School Industry Advisory Committee.
