# Philip Kantoff

> Philip Kantoff is a medical oncologist who spent three decades shaping how the world treats prostate cancer, then walked away from running medicine at one of the country's largest cancer hospitals to start a company. As co-founder and CEO of Convergent Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he is developing CONV01-alpha, an alpha-emitting radioantibody that hunts down prostate tumor cells and irradiates them at close range. He has published more than 500 papers, been cited over 85,000 times, mentored a generation of oncology leaders, and at an age when most peers retire, raised $90 million in Series A funding to bring a new class of cancer therapy into the clinic.

- **Role:** Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO at Convergent Therapeutics
- **Organizations:** Convergent Therapeutics, Inc., Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Prostate Cancer Foundation, Context Therapeutics, ESSA Pharma
- **From:** Forest Hills, Queens, New York, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Secondary, Forest Hills High School, New York, Undergraduate and MD, Brown University (Program in Liberal Medical Education / Alpert Medical School), Internal Medicine Residency, New York University / Bellevue Hospital, Post-doctoral research fellowship, National Institutes of Health, Medical Oncology Fellowship, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- **Known for:** Published more than 500 research articles and books; cited over 85,000 times, Lead investigator on the trials that brought Sipuleucel-T (Provenge), the first FDA-approved cancer vaccine, to market in 2010, Built Dana-Farber's genitourinary oncology program into one of the top programs in the country over 28 years

## Career timeline

- **1986** — Published gene-transfer work on adenosine deaminase deficiency in PNAS while at the NIH
- **1987** — Joined Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as a clinical fellow
- **1988** — Became head of genitourinary oncology at Dana-Farber, the institute's first GU oncology specialist
- **2010** — Led pivotal trials of Sipuleucel-T (Provenge), the first FDA-approved cancer vaccine; published in NEJM
- **2014** — Named inaugural Nancy and Jerome Kohlberg Professor at Harvard Medical School
- **2015** — Joined Memorial Sloan Kettering as Chairman of the Department of Medicine
- **2018** — Elected to the Association of American Physicians; joined board of Context Therapeutics
- **2021** — Co-founded Convergent Therapeutics and became Chairman and CEO
- **2022** — Joined board of directors of ESSA Pharma
- **2024** — Received the ASCO Excellence in Teaching Award
- **2026** — Convergent presented positive CONV01-alpha Phase 2 data at ASCO 2026

## Achievements

- Published more than 500 research articles and books; cited over 85,000 times
- Lead investigator on the trials that brought Sipuleucel-T (Provenge), the first FDA-approved cancer vaccine, to market in 2010
- Built Dana-Farber's genitourinary oncology program into one of the top programs in the country over 28 years
- Chaired the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering (2015-2021), overseeing roughly 500 physicians and physician-scientists
- Co-founded Convergent Therapeutics and raised $90M Series A; secured FDA clearance to begin clinical studies
- 2024 ASCO Excellence in Teaching Award
- Baruj Benacerraf Clinical Investigator Award (1994)
- Giants in Cancer Care, OncLive (2014)
- Named among the 100 Most Influential CEOs in Oncology, 2025
- Elected member of the Association of American Physicians (2018)

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Convergent Therapeutics presented positive Phase 2 data at ASCO 2026 showing anti-tumor activity, durability and favorable tolerability for CONV01-alpha in Lu-PSMA-exposed metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
- **2025-01** — Recognized among the 100 Most Influential CEOs in Oncology in 2025.
- **2024-09** — Convergent's most recent funding round recorded (Series A, with a $40M latest tranche).

## Links

- Website: https://convergentrx.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-kantoff-810153130
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ConvergentRx

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/philip-kantoff
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-08