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.

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.

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