By Melissa Marlowe, JTNews Correspondent
He has been spotlighted in the press, called the “Bill Gates of Urology,” and has been described as having an “audacious attitude,” a “telegenic” physicality and a driven persona. Mitchell Gold is a bright star. Since receiving his medical degree in 1993, Gold has accomplished more in a decade than many do in a lifetime. He became the chief resident of urology at the University of Washington, president and CEO of Elixis Corp. in 1998, and CEO of Dendreon Corp. in 2003. His ascent to the top of the biotech world has been swift, however it could be said that it is one he has been preparing for since he was a child.
Gold grew up in the Highland Park, Ill., a heavily Jewish community on the outskirts of Chicago. Mitch describes his family as Reform, and governed by strong ethical beliefs on health and life. He was five years old when his mother passed away from cancer and has spoken publicly about her painful struggle. He emerged from his adolescence with a desire to enter the medical field, a goal to cure cancer, and a deep belief that people have within them an ability to create a better environment for humanity.
After receiving his undergraduate degree from University of Wisconsin, and his medical degree from Rush Medical College in Chicago, Gold joined the residency staff at the University of Washington. In a bold move, Mitch left his chief residency position in 1998 to pursue an entrepreneurial path.
Raised in a successful business family, Mitch sought opportunities that allowed him to create helpful products that affect a larger population. He found his calling in the biotechnology sector.
The experience of being a practicing physician has served Gold well in the field. Mitch enjoys meeting the patients that benefit from his therapy and recounts stories of the individual lives his corporation has improved.
“The overarching goal is targeting cancer,” Gold says, “but the means is through the individual.”
Gold’s personal vision of changing the way cancer is treated as a society is playing out through the research advanced by Dendreon, a biotechnology company developing targeted therapies for cancer by using the patient’s own immune system instead of toxic therapies. Gold joined the staff in 2001 as vice president of business development. At the time, the company had three vaccine candidates in clinical trials. The most promising was a therapeutic vaccine for prostate cancer called Provenge.
As the leading cancer diagnosed among men in the United States, the American Cancer Society estimates that in 2003, about 220,900 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed and 28,900 men died from the disease. Without a treatment available for hormone resistant prostate cancer, many patients must rely upon watchful waiting, surgery or radiation therapy. In 2004, a follow-up analysis of 75 terminal prostate cancer patients in Dendreon’s experiment showed that half of them on its drug were alive with minimal side effects after 30 months, compared with 14 percent on a placebo — the largest survival edge ever reported in a terminal prostate cancer study, reports the Seattle Times. The drug has now been fast-tracked on its way to FDA approval.
Gold credits the success of Dendreon to focusing on the objectives at hand: building a strong organization and surrounding him-self with talented, dedicated people.
He also enjoys sharing his journey with the community. A few months ago, he spoke at an Aish Seattle-sponsored Moon’s Edge breakfast, which brought together young Jewish businessmen and women from around the area. Gold shared his personal business philosophies, and reiterated his belief that success is a direct result of dedicated passionate work. Gold’s passion shows no signs of diminishing. He has set his sights on another decade of progress and change, setting goals of launching the first therapy of its kind for cancer, bettering health, and treating life diseases that currently have very few options.