From Tehran’s Tragedy to Brain Cancer Breakthrough: An Iranian-American Entrepreneur’s Dual Mission

During his second visit to Israel within a few months, Amir Heshmatpour, the Iranian-born, Los Angeles-based CEO of Nasdaq-listed NeOnc Technologies, sat down with Jerusalem Post news editor Alex Winston to discuss the two simultaneous battles he says he is waging: against the disease itself and against the regime in Tehran.

Born in Tabriz and sent to the United States as a child before the revolution, Heshmatpour recounted how his father later returned to Iran, where he was imprisoned and tortured by the new regime. His father passed away at the age of 46, leaving his 19-year-old son to step into a leadership role. It is this profound grief that fuels Heshmatpour’s conviction that change in Iran is inevitable.

The scientific component of his work is where the conversation becomes particularly compelling. Heshmatpour detailed NEO100, an intranasal therapy designed to bypass the blood-brain barrier and target recurrent high-grade glioma. He reported that progression-free survival is now being measured in years rather than months, with approximately a quarter of Phase 2a patients demonstrating complete tumor remission.

He also explained his decision to leave a family office and personally lead the company after losing his wife’s brother to brain cancer at the age of six. Heshmatpour described how clinical trials are currently expanding across the United States, the UAE, and Israel’s Sheba and Tel Aviv medical centers.

What makes this interview particularly compelling is how the personal and professional narratives intertwine: a Persian entrepreneur married to a Jewish woman, his friendship with Rabbi Pinto, a Torah dedication at the Western Wall, and his vision of a normalized Middle East that he half-jokingly refers to as the “Cyrus Accords.”

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