Dr. Michael Rosenblatt Joins Flagship Ventures as Chief Medical Officer

Cambridge, Mass., July 13, 2016 (PR Newswire) – Flagship Ventures today announced the appointment of industry veteran Michael Rosenblatt, M.D., to the new position of Chief Medical Officer. In this capacity, Dr. Rosenblatt will lead global clinical development and medical affairs for the organization. He will play a key role in Flagship’s internal venture creation team during the conception and launch of the next generation of pioneering biotechnology companies as well as serve as an ongoing strategic resource for all companies in the Flagship ecosystem supporting their clinical development strategies. Additionally, he will serve on the board of directors of several portfolio companies; he has served on the board of directors of the Flagship company Rubius Therapeutics since 2015.

Dr. Rosenblatt joins Flagship from Merck, where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer since 2009. During his distinguished career, he has served as Dean of Tufts University School of Medicine; Robert Ebert Professor of Molecular Medicine and George R. Minot Professor of Medicine, both at Harvard Medical School; President, Harvard Faculty Dean and Senior Vice President for Academic Programs of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; and Director of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. Dr. Rosenblatt is the holder of 19 patents and is author or co-author of 179 peer-reviewed papers and commentaries. “As Merck’s first Chief Medical Officer, Mike was a strong advocate for patients’ well-being, and we’re delighted to have him bring his deep experience and creativity to the Flagship community,” said Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Flagship.

“As Flagship’s CMO, he will play a key role in our partnerships with academic researchers and biopharmaceutical partners, and will support and guide Flagship companies as they conduct clinical research at a rapidly increasing scale.”

“The opportunity to help Flagship and its uniquely creative ecosystem of companies through this unprecedented position really captured my imagination,” said Dr. Rosenblatt. “The fundamental technological and scientific breakthroughs at the heart of Flagship’s entrepreneurial innovations have to deliver real value to the patients who take the resulting drugs and the societies who pay for them, and I look forward to helping to bring that perspective as early as possible to the discovery, development, regulatory review and post-approval world. I also have had the privilege to benefit from the support of true mentors at key moments in my career, and I’m now eager to share my experience in medicine and business to support a new generation of science entrepreneurs in their mission to help patients.”

About Michael Rosenblatt

Dr. Rosenblatt’s appointment to Flagship marks a new chapter in a storied career in science, academic medicine and clinical research.

After receiving his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Columbia University, Dr. Rosenblatt earned his M.D. magna cum laude from Harvard. His internship, residency and endocrinology training were all at the Massachusetts General Hospital. In 1981 he was named Chief of the Endocrine Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dr. Rosenblatt was named Senior Vice President for Research at Merck, Sharpe & Dohme Research Laboratories in 1984, and spent nearly a decade at Merck, co-leading the worldwide development team for alendronate (FOSAMAX), Merck's bisphosphonate for osteoporosis and bone disorders. In leading most of Merck's international research efforts, he established two major basic research institutes. He also headed Merck Research's worldwide University and Industry Relations Department.

Dr. Rosenblatt returned to academia as the Robert Ebert Professor of Molecular Medicine and then the George R. Minot Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and he served as the President of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) from 1999 to 2001. He was the Harvard Faculty Dean and Senior Vice President for Academic Programs at BIDMC; and served as Director of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, during which time he led a medical education organization for M.D., Ph.D., and M.D.-Ph.D. training jointly sponsored by Harvard and MIT. He served as dean of Tufts University School of Medicine from 2003 until he returned to Merck in 2009.

Over the course of his career Dr. Rosenblatt has served as a founding scientist, scientific advisory board member, or director of more than a dozen biopharmaceutical companies, including ProScript, Millennium, Human Genome Sciences, and Radius Pharmaceuticals. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Flagship company Rubius Therapeutics.

Dr. Rosenblatt is the recipient of the Fuller Albright Award for his work on parathyroid hormone and the Vincent du Vigneaud Award in peptide chemistry and biology, and the Chairman’s Award from Merck. He is a member of the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows, and the research advisory committees of the Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

About Flagship

Flagship Ventures creates and develops pioneering companies through its unique science-based innovation platform. With $1.4 billion in capital under management across five funds, its team of scientist-entrepreneurs have used hypothesis-driven experimentation to make innovations that tackle the world’s biggest challenges in human health, sustainable agriculture and renewable energy. Working as scientific co-founders, as well as business partners, Flagship’s team explores hundreds of venture hypotheses, refining and perfecting those few that underpin the market-disrupting companies of the future.

Flagship’s health-care companies are developing breakthrough medicines to cure diseases and enhance quality of life for patients around the world. In sustainability, it is working to dramatically advance the state of agriculture, nutrition, clean water and renewable energy. Flagship’s current portfolio includes Agios (NASDAQ: AGIO), Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MCRB), T2 Biosystems (NASDAQ: TTOO), Editas Medicine (NASDAQ: EDIT) and Syros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SYRS), as well as private companies including Moderna Therapeutics, Indigo Agriculture and Axcella Health. The firm has established strategic innovation partnerships with market leaders AstraZeneca, Merck, Bayer CropScience and Nestle Health Science.

Since its founding in 2000, Flagship has conceived and launched more than 40 first-in-class companies through its VentureLabs™ innovation foundry; it has supported and developed another 45 best-in-class companies working with collaborators and academic innovations.

# # #