Dr. Eitan Akirav is a leader with over 16 years of experience spanning top-tier academic institutions and leading biotech companies, combining deep scientific expertise with strategic business acumen in biotechnology and healthcare. He excels at translating complex scientific discoveries into actionable business solutions, driving innovation, and fostering high-impact partnerships.
As Founder and CEO of KonKai Ventures, Eitan aligns business development, licensing, and fundraising to maximize research impact and revenue. He works with leading biotechs, CROs and AI services providers. In his past role as Director of BD at Harvard University, Dr. Akirav matched intellectual property with industry demands, successfully negotiating multi-institutional licensing agreements. He established strategic alliances with venture capital firms and pharmaceutical leaders, accelerating the market adoption of breakthrough technologies.
In his role as VP and Global Lead for Biomarkers at Cerba Research, Eitan drove revenue growth, expanding the geographic footprint into APAC with a major clinical trial partnership. His leadership doubled the sales team’s revenue while directing cutting-edge biomarker programs in areas like immuno-oncology.
Earlier, he pioneered minimally invasive blood tests at Winthrop-University Hospital, publishing in Nature Immunology and PNAS. He holds a Ph.D. in Immunology from Yale School of Medicine, alongside M.Sc./M.Phil. from Yale, an M.Sc. from the University of Toronto, and a B.Sc. from Tel Aviv University.
Dr. Akirav’s career is marked by excellence in strategic partnerships, biomarker development, regulatory compliance, and the commercialization of cutting-edge diagnostics and therapeutics.