Noubar Afeyan

Noubar Afeyan has dedicated his career to improving the human condition by systematically creating science-based innovations that serve as the foundation for startup companies. Flagship has fostered the development of more than 100 scientific ventures resulting in $30 billion in aggregate value, thousands of patents and patent applications and more than 50 drugs in clinical development.

Prior to founding Flagship Pioneering, Dr. Afeyan was the founder and CEO of PerSeptive Biosystems, a leader in bio-instrumentation that grew to $100 million in annual revenues. After PerSeptive’s acquisition by Perkin Elmer/Applera Corporation in 1998, he became senior vice president and chief business officer of Applera, where he initiated and oversaw the creation of Celera Genomics. He serves on the boards of a number of public and private Flagship companies, has written numerous scientific publications and is the inventor of more than 80 patents.

Dr. Afeyan was born in Beirut to Armenian parents in 1962, did his undergraduate work at McGill University in Montreal and completed his Ph.D. in biochemical engineering at MIT in 1987. A passionate advocate of the contributions of immigrants to economic and scientific progress, Dr. Afeyan received the Golden Door Award in 2017 from the International Institute of New England in honor of his outstanding contributions to American society as a U.S. citizen of foreign birth.