Gene Zaid

Born and raised in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Gene Zaid was determined to make his way to the United States to pursue an education. Seeing the suffering and rudimentary medical care in the camp, he was drawn to medicine and had a keen interest in the traditional, age-old remedies to treat a host of ailments—even cancer.

His long-held dream of coming to the U.S. to pursue an education came true, and he wasted no time pursuing two of his passions, chemistry, and math—earning a bachelor’s degree in both from Kansas Wesleyan, followed by a master’s degree and Ph.D. in chemistry from Wichita State University.

In 1983, Zaid founded JACAM Chemicals. Like many other disruptors (Apple, Amazon, Hewlett-Packard, Disney, and Dell), his start-up venture began in his garage and quickly grew into one of the most respected companies in the oil and gas industry. Over the next 20 years, he earned more than 50 patents for his unique inventions.

Despite his success, Zaid never lost his passion for medicine and its ability to ease human suffering. Remembering the medicinal plants of his youth—plants that have been used for centuries throughout the Middle East—he began to investigate them. Extracting components from plants known for their healing properties such as black calla lily, he synthesized them and combined them into a unique formulation that has shown efficacy against many types of cancer in preclinical studies.

After selling his oil and gas company, Zaid formed Genzada Pharmaceuticals in 2010. Today, he devotes his time, knowledge, and resources to eliminating cancer and other serious diseases. He currently holds eight patents for his novel pharmaceutical applications, and under his leadership, the company’s first anti-cancer agent, GZ17-6.02, is now undergoing Phase I clinical trials.