Marija Tadin-Strapps, Head of Discovery Network at Pfizer, joins Alec Reynolds, Chief Operating Officer of Pioneering Medicines, for a discussion about progress in the strategic alliance between Pfizer and Flagship Pioneering. With five agreements launched in 2024 in areas including obesity, cancer, cardiovascular and renal diseases, the collaboration is yielding a promising new pipeline of innovative medicines targeting unmet needs, including in broad patient populations.
Flagship @ JPM 2025
Join Flagship at the 2025 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. Stay tuned for CEO Chats, panel discussions, and more live from the Flagship Studio as Flagship kicks off our 25th year of pioneering bigger leaps. All events below will take place during Pacific Time.
Flagship Studio Programming
In Person -
In Person + Livestream -
JPM Conference Presentation -
External Event -
Monday, 1/13
Lovisa Afzelius, Co-Founder and Founding CEO, Metaphore Biotechnologies, and Uli Stilz, Head of Novo Nordisk’s Bio Innovation Hub, join Paul Biondi, Flagship General Partner and President of Pioneering Medicines, for a discussion about the research collaboration between the three companies to advance therapeutic options for people living with obesity, a condition which presents a serious disease burden with opportunities for new and potentially highly efficacious and durable medicines.
CEO Chat: Margo Georgiadis, Montai
Company Chat: Jens Vogel, Mirai
Conference Presentation: Moderna
Tuesday, 1/14
CEO Chat: Jake Rubens, Quotient
CEO Chat: Mike Nally, Generate
CEO Chat: Jason Park, Empress
CEO Chat: Kaan Certel, Omega
CEO Chat: Mike Serverino, Tessera
André Andonian, Chair of Asia Pacific and Strategic Advisor, Flagship Pioneering and Irene Cheong, Assistant Chief Executive, Innovation & Enterprise Division, A*STAR, will delve into the strategic vision and collaborative spirit behind the partnership between A*STAR and Flagship Pioneering. Moderated by Justine Levin-Allerhand, Executive Partner, Origination and Corporate Development, Flagship Pioneering, the conversation will cover the motivations for forming this partnership and how Flagship and A*STAR’s complementary expertise will drive innovative research collaboration, advance entrepreneurship, and accelerate talent development in Singapore and the broader Asia Pacific region.
CEO Chat: Brian Alexander, Valo
CEO Chat: Jason Gardner, Ampersand
CEO Chat: Craig Williams, Apriori
Angela Hwang, CEO, Metaphore Biotechnologies & CEO-Partner, Flagship Pioneering joins Joy Right, Vice President Talent Acquisition and Executive Search, Flagship Pioneering, for a conversation on Angela’s leadership journey as a biopharma executive from her time at Pfizer, including as Chief Commercial Officer and President of the Global Biopharmaceuticals Business, to taking the helm at Flagship-founded Metaphore Biotechnologies.
CEO Chat: Angela Hwang, Metaphore
Wednesday, 1/15
Please join us for a panel discussion led by Flagship General Partner Avak Kahvejian and featuring Flagship Origination Partners Kyle Chiang, Molly Gibson and Jake Rubens, about Flagship’s unique bioplatform approach to company creation and how we are leveraging breakthrough technologies to enable a range of therapeutic opportunities.
Conference Presentation: Sana
CEO Chat: Guillaume Pfefer, Sail
CEO Chat: Michelle Werner, Alltrna
CEO Chat: Eric Shaff, Seres
CEO Chat: Qasim Rizvi, KSQ
Stephen Hahn, CEO of Harbinger Health, Craig Williams, CEO of Apriori Bio, and Raj Panjabi, Senior Partner and Head of Flagship Pioneering's Preemptive Health and Medicine Initiative, join Christine Heenan, Flagship Chief Communications Officer and Executive Partner, for a discussion on novel preemptive health and medicine interventions that protect, maintain and improve people's health before they get sick.
Thursday, 1/16
Conference Presentation: Seres
CEO Chat Lineup
Margo Georgiadis
CEO-Partner and Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Montai Therapeutics
Stephen M. Hahn
CEO-Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Harbinger Health
Jacob Rubens
Origination Partner
Michael Nally
CEO-Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Generate:Biomedicines
Jason Park
Operating Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Empress Therapeutics
Michael Severino
CEO-Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Tessera Therapeutics
Brian Alexander
CEO-Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Valo Health
Jason Gardner
CEO-Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Ampersand Biomedicines
Craig Williams
CEO-Partner & Chief Executive Officer of Apriori Bio
Guillaume Pfefer
CEO-Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Sail Biomedicines
Michelle Werner
CEO-Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Alltrna
Qasim Rivzi
CEO-Partner and Chief Executive Officer of KSQ Therapeutics
John Lepore
CEO-Partner and Chief Executive Officer of ProFound
Highlights from JPM 2024
Check out highlights from our studio at the 2024 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference and stay tuned for updates on 2025 programming.
Flagship Flashcards
generative biology
: the use of vast computational power to create biological designs with desired properties by inferring the principals of biology from large datasets
somatic genomics
: the study of genetic variation found within each cell of a multicellular organism
transfer RNA (tRNA)
: an RNA molecule that decodes mRNA and transfers the appropriate amino acid to the growing polypeptide chain
inverse protein folding problem
: the computational challenge of determining the amino acid sequence that produces a desired protein structure
programmable medicines
: therapeutic modalities based on biological building blocks that can be rationally designed and arranged to achieve a desired effect
reinforcement learning
: an artificial intelligence (AI) training technique based on trial and error that uses positive and negative feedback to teach the AI to perform a desired task in accordance with maximizing positive feedback
preemptive health and medicine
: protecting, maintaining, or improving people's health before they get sick by providing interventions targeted to pre-disease states for those that are seemingly healthy but at risk
large language model
: a type of mathematical system, inspired by the network of neurons of the human brain, that finds statistical patterns in very large datasets to predict and generate the most probable content following an initial prompt
human microbiome
: the trillions of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, archaea, protozoa, and fungi, that are found within and on the human body
bioplatform
: biotechnologies that enable intentional and repeatable generation of medicines across many diseases or products for agriculture and sustainability
Gene Writers™
: a genome engineering technology based on mobile genetic elements that consists of a protein and an RNA or DNA template to effect a therapeutic change
genetic chemistry
: the use of genetic code to discover the foundations of small molecule medicines
stop codon disease
: any genetically driven disease that stems from a premature termination codon mutation, which prevent the formation of a complete and functional protein
generative biology
: the use of vast computational power to create biological designs with desired properties by inferring the principals of biology from large datasets
The future of drug development will be defined by the ability to generate, rather than discover, drugs with desired therapeutic effects, optimized costs, and reduced or eliminated off-target effects.
somatic genomics
: the study of genetic variation found within each cell of a multicellular organism
All cells accumulate random genetic changes in their DNA. As a result, an individual’s genome is not a single genome but trillions of unique genomes throughout the body. While variations may have no apparent impact, some impart disease resistance and others cause or increase vulnerability to disease. It is as if clinical trials for these mutations are being conducted at the cellular level. Tapping into this trove of information opens up new opportunities to cure, prevent, or reverse disease.
Learn how Flagship-founded Quotient Therapeutics is pioneering somatic genomics.
transfer RNA (tRNA)
: an RNA molecule that decodes mRNA and transfers the appropriate amino acid to the growing polypeptide chain
Beyond properly positioning amino acids in the final protein product, tRNA is involved in an entire biological framework for coordinating multicellular life.
Learn how Flagship-founded Alltrna is pioneering tRNA therapeutics to treat thousands of diseases that share the same genetic mutation.
inverse protein folding problem
: the computational challenge of determining the amino acid sequence that produces a desired protein structure
The structure of a protein impacts how it functions and behaves in an environment, particularly how it binds with other molecules. If scientists could determine the amino acid sequence that would provide a desired structure, it would take much of the guesswork out of developing biologic medicines.
programmable medicines
: therapeutic modalities based on biological building blocks that can be rationally designed and arranged to achieve a desired effect
The fusion of computation and biology is enabling the development of new medicines with predictable outcomes.
reinforcement learning
: an artificial intelligence (AI) training technique based on trial and error that uses positive and negative feedback to teach the AI to perform a desired task in accordance with maximizing positive feedback
This machine learning paradigm has been used to famously train AI to beat the world’s foremost Go and chess champions but it can also be applied to teach machines to pursue other goals, such as optimizing biomolecular designs.
preemptive health and medicine
: protecting, maintaining, or improving people's health before they get sick by providing interventions targeted to pre-disease states for those that are seemingly healthy but at risk
Interventions protect health from external threats (i.e., health security) and prevent or delay the onset of diseases (i.e., preemptive medicine).
Learn more about Flagship's Preemptive Health & Medicine Initiative.
large language model
: a type of mathematical system, inspired by the network of neurons of the human brain, that finds statistical patterns in very large datasets to predict and generate the most probable content following an initial prompt
Models can be trained using biological datasets to infer the complex and highly dynamic “language of biology.” For example, from a protein sequence, a model could predict protein structures, or from a genetic sequence, predict a relevant promoter region.
human microbiome
: the trillions of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, archaea, protozoa, and fungi, that are found within and on the human body
These microbes play important roles in human health. Interventions can target imbalances in these communities to restore homeostasis and affect the progression of a wide variety of diseases.
Learn how Flagship-founded Seres Therapeutics is pioneering microbiome therapeutics.
bioplatform
: biotechnologies that enable intentional and repeatable generation of medicines across many diseases or products for agriculture and sustainability
The power and value of a bioplatform relates to the degree with which it serves a diversity and breadth of applications and can be universally applied.
Gene Writers™
: a genome engineering technology based on mobile genetic elements that consists of a protein and an RNA or DNA template to effect a therapeutic change
By only nicking the DNA, rather than making a double-stranded break, Gene Writers can substitute a single base pair; delete or insert short DNA sequences; or write in entire genes into the human genome.
Learn how Flagship-founded Tessera Therapeutics’ Gene Writing™ technology has the potential to treat diseases at their source.
genetic chemistry
: the use of genetic code to discover the foundations of small molecule medicines
Enzymatic proteins encoded in genes make and modify bioactive small molecules. From human samples, we can pinpoint the biosynthetic gene clusters that give rise to these molecules, revealing the instructions for small molecule drug leads that can be matched to disease-relevant targets.
Learn how Flagship-founded Empress Therapeutics is leveraging genetic chemistry to source chemistry from within the human body.
stop codon disease
: any genetically driven disease that stems from a premature termination codon mutation, which prevent the formation of a complete and functional protein
Reclassifying patients based on their shared mutation, rather than individual mutated gene or traditionally defined clinical presentation, could unify treatment for seemingly disparate diseases.
Learn how Flagship-founded Alltrna is pioneering tRNA therapeutics to treat thousands of diseases.