CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 11,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Flagship Pioneering,
the bioplatform innovation company, announced today the
appointment of Amanda Kay as Senior
Partner and Chief Business Development Officer. In this role, she
will be responsible for driving and supporting business development
across the Flagship ecosystem, leading the effort to forge strong
partnerships between Flagship companies and the biopharma
industry. She will also work closely with the Pioneering
Medicines unit of Flagship as we continue to invest in and grow our
corporate alliance strategy.
"Partnerships can allow companies to make
bigger leaps to unlock new value pools," said Noubar Afeyan.
A biologist by training, Kay previously served as Chief Business
Officer and Head of Finance at Deep Genomics. Prior roles include
serving as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at
Synlogic, Inc., and as Chief Operating Officer for Pfizer's
Inflammation and Immunology Research Unit. Kay joined Flagship
Pioneering in early 2023 as an Operating Partner, and as President
of Metaphore Biotechnologies, which Flagship launched out of
stealth in May.
Partnerships can allow companies to make bigger leaps to unlock
new value pools," said Noubar
Afeyan, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Flagship Pioneering. "I look
forward to working with Amanda in her new role to identify and
harness these opportunities for our ecosystem."
"Given the broad potential of our bioplatform companies, and the
interest we see from the biopharma industry to partner with
Flagship to pursue pioneering innovation, it is the right moment to
invest more heavily in our business development function and
leader," said Stephen Berenson,
Managing Partner, Flagship Pioneering. "Amanda combines her broad
biopharma experience in corporate strategy, operations, business
development, and financial planning with a scientist's outlook and
passion, and we're pleased to have her take on this important
role."
"Bringing teams together across functions and companies to go
from an idea to a drug in the clinic has always been the most
exciting part of my work," said Amanda
Kay, Chief Business Development Officer, Flagship
Pioneering. "I look forward to establishing collaborations across
the Flagship ecosystem and the broader biopharma industry to
advance Flagship's multiproduct platforms and position them to have
maximum impact for patients."
Kay's appointment to Chief Business Development Officer follows
several executive appointments to Flagship Pioneering this summer
including: David Khougazian as Growth Partner; Jason Gardner as CEO-Partner and CEO of
Ampersand Biomedicines; and Rupert
Vessey as Executive Partner and Chief Scientist.
About Amanda Kay
Amanda Kay joined Flagship
Pioneering at the beginning of 2023 as an operating partner and
President of Metaphore Biotechnologies. A biologist by training,
Amanda brings broad experience from pharmaceutical and
biotechnology companies in strategy, operations, business
development, and financial planning, together with a passion for
working with scientists to translate innovative drug platform
technologies into products that address unmet patient need.
Prior to joining Flagship Pioneering, Amanda was Chief Business
Officer and Head of Finance at Deep Genomics where she led strategy
and business development, raising a successful Series C to develop
an AI-driven drug discovery platform and emerging portfolio. As
Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Synlogic, Inc., a
clinical-stage company, she led business development, corporate
strategy, alliance management, and new product commercialization
efforts for a new class of living medicines. She played a key role
in defining the company's strategy, leading to both the company's
public launch and financings.
Prior to joining Synlogic, Amanda served as Chief Operating
Officer for Pfizer's Inflammation and Immunology Research Unit,
driving development of strategy and operations across portfolio,
BD, finance, and HR functions. Previously, Amanda was a strategic
lead on the marketing team for transplant and oncology products at
Genzyme. She began her business career at L.E.K. Consulting, where
she led more than fifty engagements, with clients ranging from
start-ups to pharmaceutical companies.
Amanda received her B.A. in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, graduating both
summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She received her Ph.D. in
biology from Harvard University.
About Flagship Pioneering
Flagship Pioneering conceives, creates, resources, and develops
first-in-category bioplatform companies to transform human health
and sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, the firm has, through
its Flagship Labs unit, applied its unique hypothesis-driven
innovation process to originate and foster more than 100 scientific
ventures, resulting in more than $90
billion in aggregate value. To date, Flagship has deployed
over $3.4 billion in capital toward
the founding and growth of its pioneering companies alongside more
than $26 billion of follow-on
investments from other institutions. The current Flagship ecosystem
comprises 44 transformative companies, including Denali
Therapeutics (NASDAQ: DNLI), Foghorn Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FHTX),
Generate Biomedicines, Inari, Indigo Agriculture, Moderna (NASDAQ:
MRNA), Omega Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OMGA), Sana Biotechnology
(NASDAQ: SANA), Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MCRB) and Tessera
Therapeutics.
Media Contact:
press@flagshippioneering.com
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