The Technion Mourns the Passing of Israel Prize Laureate Prof. Yoram Palti
Professor Emeritus Yoram Palti (1937–2026), one of the founders of the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion, has passed away at the age of 89. Prof. Palti was the founder of NovoCure, which developed an innovative technology for cancer treatment, and a recipient of the Israel Prize for Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation in 2022.
Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan paid tribute to him, saying:
“We mourn the passing of one of the Technion’s greatest researchers, a pioneering inventor who developed not only an innovative technology, but also a groundbreaking approach to cancer treatment using electric fields. Prof. Palti, who was one of the founders of the Technion Faculty of Medicine, foresaw the vital need to bridge the worlds of engineering and medicine. This bridge underpinned the establishment of the Faculty of Medicine at the Technion in the 1970s. His work stands as a model for translating science into life-saving applications through a unique combination of research depth, entrepreneurship, and vision.”
Prof. Ami Aronheim, Dean of the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, said: “Prof. Palti was among the founders of our faculty. In 1970, while serving as a faculty member at the medical school in Jerusalem, he was asked to assist in establishing the medical school at the Technion. From that point on, he tied his fate to that of the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine. Prof. Palti was an exceptional and insightful researcher who published dozens of scientific papers and registered numerous patents, some of which were commercialized. His major breakthrough was the realization that alternating electric fields at specific frequencies could selectively disrupt the division of cancer cells without harming surrounding healthy cells. He will always be remembered as a leading researcher, entrepreneur, and academic leader.”
Prof. Palti was born in Haifa in 1937. After his family settled in Jerusalem, he attended Beit Hakerem High School near the Hebrew University. In 1955, he began studying medicine at the Hadassah–Hebrew University Medical School in Jerusalem, but at the request of the IDF, he took a break from his studies to carry out a research project. He later became the first to complete a dual degree in medicine – an MD and a PhD. His research focused on a concept that would become his life’s work: the effect of electric fields on living tissues.
Prof. Palti received a postdoctoral fellowship from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and conducted his postdoctoral research at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Within just one year, he was appointed to the University’s faculty. In 1969, he returned to the Hebrew University, but two years later was called upon to help establish the Technion Medical School. Alongside his original research, Prof. Palti held senior administrative positions at the Technion, including Head of the Rappaport Institute for Research in the Medical Sciences.
Prof. Palti worked tirelessly to translate his innovative research into clinical practice. These efforts transformed him into a serial entrepreneur who founded several companies, including Carmel Biosensors (a glucose monitoring system for diabetes patients), EchoSense (a diagnostic tool for cardiac disorders), O2Cure (a respiratory support and artificial lung technology company), and BetaVive (a diabetes treatment solution).
The pinnacle of his scientific and entrepreneurial career was NovoCure. Founded in 2000, the company developed a novel treatment for cancer patients. To date, approximately 30,000 patients have been treated using NovoCure’s technology at about 250 medical centers worldwide. Today, the company is traded on NASDAQ with a market capitalization of approximately $1.6 billion and annual revenues of about $600 million.
NovoCure’s treatment technology is based on alternating electric fields that target cancer cells without harming surrounding healthy cells, thereby avoiding many of the side effects and risks associated with conventional therapies. Clinical trials of the technology began in 2004, and their success led to FDA approval for the treatment of three types of cancer, followed by CE approval (the European equivalent of FDA approval) for the treatment of all solid tumors. Treatments for additional cancers –
including lung cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, and pediatric brain cancer –
are currently at various stages of clinical trials.
In 2022, Prof. Palti was awarded the Israel Prize for Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation. In its citation, the prize committee stated:
“Prof. Yoram Palti developed a groundbreaking method for the electrical treatment of several types of cancer. The treatment is non-invasive and highly selective. His personal story is inspiring, as this breakthrough required thinking outside the box, unwavering belief in his path, and the courage to challenge and change prevailing assumptions and paradigms in the field.”
Photo: Rami Shlush
