David Epstein to Step Down from Consulting Position at Flagship Pioneering

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., October 17, 2022 – Flagship Pioneering today announced that David Epstein is departing from his consulting position as Executive Partner.

David joined Flagship in 2017 after service as CEO of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, a division of Novartis AG, from 2010 to 2016. Previously, David had started and led Novartis’ Oncology and Molecular Diagnostic units. Under his leadership the company’s oncology business grew to the second largest in the world.

While at Flagship, David applied his more than 30 years of extensive experience in drug development and commercialization to the growth of several Flagship companies, and has served on several public company boards, including: Axcella Therapeutics, Evelo Biosciences, and Rubius Therapeutics. He also serves on several private company boards.

“David’s leadership and experience in drug development have been valuable in company building, talent attraction, and mapping out company strategy and growth as we work to create and build novel bioplatform-based companies and products at Flagship,” said Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering. “His extensive expertise in what it entails to take a new medicine from concept through clinical development, together with his experience in commercialization, have been critical to the advancement of our companies. I thank him for his contributions to Flagship and our ecosystem of companies.”

“It has been a pleasure to be a part of Flagship Pioneering and to help build and grow a number of Flagship-founded companies as they work to develop novel platforms and therapeutics,” said David Epstein. “Flagship’s unparalleled innovation process together with its commitment to the companies it founds creates incredible opportunities to advance human health and create significant impact for patients.”