Flagship Pioneering Marks Official Opening of UK Hub with Event Convening Life Science Leaders
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and LONDON, Nov. 28, 2023 – Bioplatform innovation company Flagship Pioneering celebrated the launch of its UK presence with a high-profile event jointly hosted by the UK Government’s Office for Life Sciences. The event brought together industry leaders, government representatives, and academia to focus on breakthrough innovation in the life sciences sector. Flagship’s commitment to the UK life sciences ecosystem was publicly announced at the event, following the recent launch of its first UK-based company, Quotient Therapeutics.
With a strong emphasis on scientific research and development and a regulatory environment supportive of innovation, Flagship began expanding its presence in London earlier this year. The establishment of an office in London marks a significant milestone for Flagship as it becomes the company’s first office outside the United States. The new office will serve as a regional hub for Flagship’s operations in the UK and Europe.
Noubar Afeyan, Founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, expressed his delight at the official opening of the UK effort, which has been in development for over a year. Afeyan emphasized Flagship’s global ambitions, stating, Flagship aims to strengthen its position as a global leader in the biotech industry and enhance its ability to engage stakeholders around the world with our announced regional hubs in both London and Singapore.
In addition to its UK expansion, Flagship recently announced its venture into the Asia-Pacific region with the establishment of a hub in Singapore and the appointment of André Andonian as Chair of Asia Pacific and Senior Advisor.
Flagship Pioneering is known for creating and building platform companies that generate multiple products to promote a healthier and more sustainable future. Over the past two decades, Flagship has fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in over $90 billion in aggregate value. The company’s ecosystem currently comprises 40 impactful companies spanning human therapeutics, agriculture, and nutrition.
While several Flagship companies operate outside the US, the recent unveiling of Quotient Therapeutics marks the first company co-anchored in the UK. Quotient, located in both Cambridge, MA, and Cambridge, UK, is equipped with research facilities in both cities. The groundbreaking platform of Quotient was created through collaboration between Flagship scientists and leading geneticists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute (UK) and the University of Texas Southwestern (US).
The announcement of Flagship Pioneering’s UK presence has been met with enthusiasm by UK government representatives. Michelle Donelan, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology in the United Kingdom, emphasized the significance of Flagship’s decision to establish its European home in the UK. Donelan sees this decision as a vote of confidence in the UK’s world-leading science and a determination to support real innovation with substantial funding.
Flagship Senior Vice President and UK Initiative Lead Tom Kibasi highlighted the vast opportunities for collaboration with academic institutions, research centers, national data resources, and biotech startups in the UK. Flagship aims to work closely with the UK biotech community to contribute to the advancement of scientific research and development in the country.
The official launch of Flagship Pioneering’s UK hub in London comes at an exciting time of growth and innovation in the biotech sector. Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham, Chair of Flagship’s Preemptive Health and Medicine initiative, expressed confidence in Flagship’s contribution to the vibrant and innovative biotech ecosystem in the United Kingdom.
About Flagship Pioneering
Flagship Pioneering is a biotechnology company that invents and builds platform companies to transform human health and sustainability. With over 100 scientific ventures originated and fostered since its launch in 2000, Flagship has accumulated over $90 billion in aggregate value. The company has deployed over $3.4 billion in capital to found and support its pioneering companies, with over $26 billion of follow-on investments. Flagship’s current ecosystem consists of 40 companies, including Denali Therapeutics, Foghorn Therapeutics, Generate:Biomedicines, Inari, Indigo Agriculture, Moderna, Omega Therapeutics, Sana Biotechnology, Seres Therapeutics, and Tessera Therapeutics.
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