Flagship Pioneering Expands into Asia-Pacific Region, with Regional Hub in Singapore

André Andonian Joins Flagship to Lead APAC Region

SINGAPORE, November 8, 2023 – Flagship Pioneering, the bioplatform innovation company, today announced its expansion into the Asia-Pacific region, with the opening of a regional hub in Singapore. This follows the company’s expansion into the UK earlier this year. André Andonian has joined Flagship as Chair of Asia Pacific and Senior Advisor to lead Flagship’s presence in the region with a focus on furthering the global reach and impact of Flagship and its companies. He will also serve as an advisor on broader global strategy, regional investor engagement, and institutional development. 

Flagship Pioneering creates and builds platform companies designed to generate multiple products that secure a healthier and more sustainable future. For more than 20 years, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in more than $90 billion (USD) in aggregate value. The current Flagship ecosystem comprises 43 impactful companies spanning human therapeutics, agriculture, and nutrition. 

The global expansion of Flagship’s presence into the Asia Pacific region follows the opening of the company’s office in London earlier this year. Later this month, Flagship will co-host an event in partnership with the UK Government’s Office for Life Sciences, bringing together top leaders from industry, government, and academia, with a focus on breakthrough innovation.

“For more than two decades Flagship has systematically created breakthrough companies that push scientific boundaries and build enduring value, while ensuring a healthier and more sustainable future,” said Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering. “Flagship’s expansion into APAC through our new hub in Singapore, will allow us to accelerate the growth and scaling of our companies and enable us to broaden their impact on human health and the health of our planet through strategic partnerships across industry, academia, and healthcare systems in the region.”

“Singapore has a thriving biomedical ecosystem built over more than two decades. Here, global and local life sciences and biotech companies can accelerate game-changing innovation and scale transformative solutions to meet the rising demand for healthcare in Asia. The presence of Flagship Pioneering in Singapore will boost new collaborations in our growing region, driving healthcare and sustainability impact,” said Jacqueline Poh, Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and Director, EDBI.

Afeyan continued, “I am delighted to welcome André to Flagship. André’s deep and longstanding experience working throughout Asia with companies, investors, governments, and other stakeholders will be instrumental in identifying and building meaningful relationships between this vibrant regional ecosystem, Flagship, and our first-in-category platform companies.”  

“It is an honor to join Flagship Pioneering and its leadership team to help introduce the company and its unique approach to innovation, impact, and value creation to the APAC region,” said André Andonian, Chair of Asia Pacific and Strategic Advisor, Flagship Pioneering. “I look forward to leveraging the many opportunities that exist across Asia to build relationships and partnerships that help Flagship and its bioplatform companies as they grow and scale in pursuit of maximum impact for patients and the planet.”

About André Andonian  

André Andonian has over three decades of experience advising companies around the globe on a broad range of strategic, operational, and organizational topics, with a longstanding presence in the APAC region.  

Andonian is Senior Partner Emeritus at McKinsey & Company, where he worked for 34 years, including as Senior Partner, Chairman of Japan, and Managing Partner of Korea. He also led Client Impact & Experience across Asia and was a member of McKinsey’s leadership teams in Asia, Europe, and the United States, advising clients in the high-tech, industrial, automotive & assembly, aerospace, basic materials, biotech, and private equity sectors. He was a long-term member of the firm’s global board and held extensive additional senior leadership roles in support of growth, people, and overall knowledge development.  Prior to joining McKinsey, Andonian worked at Masco Corporation in the US and at IBM in Austria, Spain, and the Middle East.  

Andonian also serves as an Independent Director of the Board of ADI, Chair of the Board of Cognaize in the US, and NC Chair of AEM Holdings in Singapore. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Sports & Health Sciences Department of the Technical University of Munich, chairs the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology, and is a Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea.  

As a Fulbright Scholar, Andonian received an MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, an MA and BA in Social & Economic Sciences as well as a BSc in Engineering, all with highest distinction, from institutions in his hometown of Vienna, Austria.  

About Flagship Pioneering

Flagship Pioneering is a biotechnology company that invents and builds platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health or sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered 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 43 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.