President & CEO
Robert I. Blum is a biopharmaceutical executive who serves as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Board member of Cytokinetics, Inc., a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on muscle biology-directed therapies for serious cardiovascular and neuromuscular diseases.[[1]](https://www.clay.com/dossier/cytokinetics-ceo)[[2]](https://www.parexel.com/about-us/experts/robert-blum)[[4]](https://www.biotech2050.com/episodes/advancing-muscle-biology-robert-blum-pres-amp-ceo-amp-fady-malik-evp-research-amp-dev-cytokinetics) He has held the President & CEO role since 2007, after previously serving as President and in other senior leadership positions overseeing research and development, finance, corporate development and business development, legal, commercial operations, and strategic planning since participating in the launch of Cytokinetics in 1998.[[2]](https://www.parexel.com/about-us/experts/robert-blum)[[4]](https://www.biotech2050.com/episodes/advancing-muscle-biology-robert-blum-pres-amp-ceo-amp-fady-malik-evp-research-amp-dev-cytokinetics) Under his leadership, Cytokinetics has advanced a pipeline of therapies targeting the mechanics of muscle with the aim of improving outcomes in conditions such as heart failure and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.[[1]](https://www.clay.com/dossier/cytokinetics-ceo)[[4]](https://www.biotech2050.com/episodes/advancing-muscle-biology-robert-blum-pres-amp-ceo-amp-fady-malik-evp-research-amp-dev-cytokinetics)
Before joining Cytokinetics, Blum held roles in business development, commercial development, marketing, sales, and business planning at COR Therapeutics, Marion Laboratories, and Syntex Corporation from the early 1980s through the late 1990s.[[2]](https://www.parexel.com/about-us/experts/robert-blum)[[3]](https://hcsanfrancisco.clubs.harvard.edu/article.html?aid=1111) He has also been active in industry and civic leadership, serving on the Board of BIO, co-chairing the BIO Business Development Committee, teaching graduate-level corporate finance at the University of California, San Francisco’s Center for BioEntrepreneurship, and engaging in philanthropic initiatives related to life sciences and education.[[2]](https://www.parexel.com/about-us/experts/robert-blum)[[3]](https://hcsanfrancisco.clubs.harvard.edu/article.html?aid=1111) Blum received B.A. degrees in Human Biology and Economics from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.[[2]](https://www.parexel.com/about-us/experts/robert-blum)[[3]](https://hcsanfrancisco.clubs.harvard.edu/article.html?aid=1111)
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