Archives: Speakers

Luba Vitkin Katz has over 10 years of experience in the clinical trials field, including a specialization in monitoring and documentation. Mrs. Vitkin Katz holds a B.Sc. in Life Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, an MA in Science Education (cum laude) from Bar-Ilan University and is also a certified Clinical Research Associate (CRA) and completed a course of Auditing of Clinical Trials.

Leukemia Patients Advocates Foundation host of: CML Advocates Network and MPN Advocates Network Israeli CML Patient’s Organisation Israeli Flute of Light- Home of blood cancers in Netanya, Israel Giora Sharf was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in March 2000 at the age of 47. After the initial shock of the diagnosis and some research on treatment options, he elected to wait for a clinical trial with a new agent, STI571. He joined the IRIS trial in June 2000 and after 7 months on interferon, he began taking Imatinib. After being PCR negative for 14 years he has stooped treatment more than 8 years ago and is on a Treatment Free Remission (TFR). Mr Sharf decided to use his experience to help other CML patients by founding the Israeli CML Patient’s Organization in April 2001. What began with 7 local patients at a small hospital in the city of Netanya, Israel, has since grown to support more than 550 patients from all around the country. The main goal of the patient organization is to empower patients to be active and involved partners in their own disease management. In 2014, Mr Sharf founded a new Israeli blood cancer patient organization called “Flute of Light.” The organization is a resource for patients in Israel with leukemia, lymphoma, and other blood disorders also helping patients deal with psychological challenges of diagnosis and treatments. In addition to his work with the Israeli Patient’s Organizations, Mr Sharf is a co-founder of the Leukemia Patients Advocates Foundation (LePAF) which is the host for 4 global blood cancer patients advocates networks including CML Advocates Network, which connects 128 leukemia patient groups from 95 countries and also MPN Patients Advocates. They are also involved in research, and Mr Sharf has led 2 global studies on Adherence and TFR for CML patients, which were presented at the ASH, EHA, ESH and other meetings and also published in scientific magazines like Leukemia. Mr Sharf serves on several advisory boards representing the patient’s perspective on CML and other blood cancers, and attends medical conventions, such as ASH and EHA, to report on updates for patients. He is also an alumni of EUPATI and has been a driver in opening a patient advocacy academy in Israel in 2021.

Dr. Gedo draws upon 25 years of experience as a marketing and business strategy expert serving in academic, government, and industry functions. Dr. Gedo’s extensive expertise in international marketing, branding, entrepreneurship, and business strategy has served him in his various leadership roles. He has contributed to a wide range of branding, strategic planning, and market penetration activities as a senior manager or executive director of major companies in a variety of industries, including the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Gedo founded BOL Pharma and served as CEO and founding Board member, during his period he grew the company from four employees to become the largest cannabis company in Israel which owned around 50% market share. He served as executive director at Lundbeck Israel and Maccabi Healthcare which is the second largest health medical organization in Israel. As a consultant, Dr. Gedo provided services to companies in the medical, nutrition, and pharmaceutical industries. In addition to his business and consulting practice, Dr. Gedo has served as the head of the marketing department and other faculty positions of several colleges in Israel such as the Max Stern Yizrael Valley College and IDC Herzelia College and has guest lecturer in the Department of Business Administration of Shanghai University. He has taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses in global marketing, business strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Dr. Gedo received his Ph.D. in Economics from Manchester Business School (UK) and an MBA from Ben Gurion University (Israel). He completed a B.Sc. in Molecular Biology at Bar Ilan University (Israel).