Flagship Pioneering Announces Appointment of Pablo J. Cagnoni, M.D., as Executive Partner

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., November 2, 2022 -- Flagship Pioneering, the bioplatform innovation company, announced today that Pablo J. Cagnoni, M.D., will join as Executive Partner, effective November 15, 2022. Dr. Cagnoni joins from Rubius Therapeutics, where he has served as Chief Executive Officer since 2018. As Executive Partner, Dr. Cagnoni will play an instrumental role in Flagship Pioneering’s efforts to create and develop groundbreaking innovations in human health, including through board membership, and will also engage in leading Flagship companies. He currently serves as Chairman of the board of Rubius Therapeutics and is a board member of Flagship-founded Laronde and Repertoire Immune Medicines.

As an oncologist and pharmaceutical executive, Dr. Cagnoni has been committed to advancing the development of breakthrough treatments for patients throughout his career. He has played a key role in the development, approval, and commercialization of more than 20 life-changing medicines, including Tarceva^®, Afinitor^® and Kyprolis^®. Prior to joining Rubius in 2018, Dr. Cagnoni was President and Chief Executive Officer for Tizona Therapeutics. He previously held senior positions with companies including Onyx Pharmaceuticals and Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

"Pablo has a strong track record of leading biotech companies on their journeys towards the clinic, and his expertise is a welcome addition to the Flagship team,” said Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering. "I’ve had the opportunity to call Pablo a colleague for several years, and I am pleased we’ll continue working together in his new role.”

"As a CEO within the Flagship ecosystem of companies, I’ve experienced firsthand the high caliber of its leadership team and the impact of its innovative bioplatforms,” said Dr. Pablo Cagnoni. "I am thrilled to take this next step with Flagship as Executive Partner, and to lend my expertise in building and growing first-in-category companies aimed at transformative impact.”

About Pablo J. Cagnoni, M.D.

Pablo J. Cagnoni is an oncologist and pharmaceutical executive who has been committed to advancing the development of breakthrough treatments for people with cancer and other diseases throughout his career.

Dr. Cagnoni most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Rubius Therapeutics. Before joining Rubius in 2018, Dr. Cagnoni served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Tizona Therapeutics, a privately held biotech company focused on developing next generation immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. He joined Tizona as the company’s first employee and grew the organization to support the filing of its first Investigational New Drug application. In 2020, Gilead Sciences secured an exclusive option to acquire Tizona for up to $1.5 billion.

Prior to Tizona, he served as President of Onyx Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Amgen), where he had global strategic oversight and accountability of the business from early product development to commercialization of the Onyx portfolio. Dr. Cagnoni joined Onyx in March 2013, as Executive Vice President, Global Research and Development and Technical Operations, and was named President in October 2013, when Onyx became an Amgen subsidiary. Previously, he was Senior Vice President and Global Head of Clinical Development at Novartis Oncology. From 2007 to 2009, Dr. Cagnoni was Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Allos Therapeutics (acquired by Spectrum Pharmaceuticals) and, prior to that, Chief Medical Officer of OSI Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Astellas).

Earlier in his career, he served as Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado Bone Marrow Transplant Program, where he cared for patients undergoing stem cell transplants. Dr. Cagnoni earned his medical degree from University of Buenos Aires School of Medicine, and completed his fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at the Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York and a fellowship in Stem Cell Transplantation at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

He is a member of the Board of Directors for Fusion Pharmaceuticals, Laronde, Repertoire Immune Medicines, Synthekine and the Emerging Companies Section Governing Board of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). He serves on the Board of Trustees for the Bay Area Discovery Museum and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He previously served as a board member for CRISPR Therapeutics, Harpoon Therapeutics, Tizona Therapeutics and Tango Therapeutics and was Executive Chairman of Blade Therapeutics.

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 $100 billion in aggregate value. To date, Flagship has deployed over $2.9 billion in capital toward the founding and growth of its pioneering companies alongside more than $19 billion of follow-on investments from other institutions. The current Flagship ecosystem comprises 42 transformative companies, including Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ: DNLI), Evelo Biosciences (NASDAQ: EVLO), Foghorn Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FHTX), Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), Omega Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OMGA), Rubius Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RUBY), Sana Biotechnology (NASDAQ: SANA), and Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MCRB).