Noubar Afeyan
Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist, Inventor, CEO and Philanthropist
Four Remarkable things about Noubar Afeyan
An immigrant who pursued excellence
Early entrepreneurial venture in his field
Helping other companies begin
Gives back to help Armenia and the world
Noubar Afeyan is one of America’s leading biotech and life sciences entrepreneurs. He has set up more than 35 companies from his base in Boston. He has done it by pioneering a new way of starting a business based on the idea of survival, constant adaptation and overcoming obstacles. In 1999 he founded Flagship Ventures which develops new companies through its in-house division VentureLabs. The company also invests in startups. VentureLabs conducts its own research and forms new companies after the research has started to bear fruit. Using this approach, they have launched dozens of startup companies primarily in the life sciences and sustainability. Noubar has over 100 patents to his name.
Cambridge, MA – 04/28/15 – Noubar Afeyan of Flagship Ventures in a lab at Moderna Therapeutics. Lane Turner/Globe Staff Section: MAG Reporter: altoff Slug: 10gamechangers-flagship
Noubar Afeyan was born in 1962 to Armenian parents in Beirut, Lebanon. His family moved to Montreal, Canada in 1976 during the civil war in Lebanon. He graduated from McGill University with a BS in Chemical Engineering in 1983 and earned his PhD in Biochemical Engineering from MIT in 1987. Soon after that he founded his first company, PerSeptive Biosystems which was acquired in 1998 in a $360 million all-stock deal. He also authored many scientific publications and patents. He lectured widely in the United States and internationally on diverse topics ranging from innovation, entrepreneurship, and venture capital to biological engineering, drug discovery, medical technologies and renewable energy.
In 2016 Flagship Ventures announced that it was changing its name to Flagship Pioneering. “The inspiration behind the name change comes from our unique process of “Pioneering” through which we envision and make unforeseen innovations that have disruptive value potential, and systematically create new ventures to realize their promise,” said Noubar Afeyan founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering. “Flagship’s scientific ventures start by exploring unprecedented solutions for unsolved problems representing unproven value opportunities. In doing so, we discover completely new pools of value and realize them for the benefit of society and our partners.”
NPR - November 16, 2020
Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccine Shines In Clinical Trial
The most high-profile of Flagship’s portfolio companies’ efforts is that of Moderna Therapeutics, whose experimental COVID-19 vaccine candidate – made using the company’s messenger-RNA platform technology, is out front in the global pharma race. It is second to Pfizer in final testing before it can be distributed as a viable vaccine. While Moderna is in an all-out race with the vaccine Afeyan says he’s also rooting for the competition. “It’s encouraging to see so much science being applied to this problem,” he says. “We’re going to need multiple vaccines to be able to supply the world, regardless. We’re competing to finish the race. And if we can finish the race, then we will have had an impact.”
Noubar’s commitment to improving the human condition through science and busness goes hand in hand with social investments and a global humanitarian initiative. Together with his partners, he has launched philanthropic projects including the IDeA Foundation (Initiatives for Development of Armenia), UWC Dilijian School (UWC mission is a global education movement that makes education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.) 100 LIVES which celebrates the heroic actions of those who saved thousands of Armenian lives during the Genocide and supports humanitarian projects around the world) and the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative (an annual award given to an individual who has faced personal risk to enable others to survive. The prize includes $100,000 for the winner and $1 million for an organization that inspired his or her work.)
““What keeps you from innovating is being comfortable. If you’re an immigrant, then you’re used to being out of your comfort zone.””
Noubar also sits on the boards of many companies and organizations such as MIT and AGBU. He is the recipient of many awards including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor an award granted to outstanding Americans who have distinguished themselves as U.S. citizens, and who exemplify outstanding qualities in both their personal and professional lives, while continuing to preserve the richness of their particular ethnic heritage.
That sounds like Noubar Afeyan.