Flagship Ventures Welcomes 16 VentureLabs® Fellows Commencing Its Seventh Annual Fellowship Program

Program Expands to Accelerate Venture Creation

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Flagship Ventures, a leading venture capital and venture creation firm focused on innovations in healthcare and sustainability, announced the start of its seventh VentureLabs® Fellowship Program, a rare opportunity for graduate and post-graduate students to experience VentureLabs' unique approach to innovation, company creation, and entrepreneuring.

VentureLabs is expanding the fellowship program this year, adding a second cohort in the fall. Each cohort will run for 12 weeks. Fellows will contribute to the exploration projects aimed at generating innovations that can be developed into the next game-changing companies, and have an opportunity to be immersed in VentureLabs' unique company-creation process. The program also enables fellows to collaborate with leaders in science, business and academia, providing a valuable platform for personal and professional growth.

"We are pleased to welcome these 16 talented fellows who will work hand-in-hand with us as we explore new opportunities to launch the next disruptive startups," said Dr. Noubar Afeyan, senior managing partner and CEO of Flagship Ventures. "We are expanding our program to two cohorts this year as interest in the program has grown and acceptance has become even more competitive."

This year's fellows were chosen from hundreds of applicants from universities around the world. Fellows represent leading graduate school programs at Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, among others, and include engineers and scientists who are pursuing, or have recently completed advanced educational degrees. Applications are still being accepted for the next session of the fellows program beginning in September. For more information please visit www.flagshipventures.com/venturelabs/fellows-program.

About Flagship VentureLabs

Flagship VentureLabs® is the innovation foundry of Flagship Ventures. VentureLabs has been creating breakthrough companies since 2000. It is the first institution dedicated to entrepreneurial innovation, where the acts of discovery, invention and entrepreneuring are performed simultaneously by a world-class team of scientists, innovators and professional entrepreneurs. VentureLabs innovates, invents, launches and builds startups through a unique, systematic approach that produces best-in-class companies. VentureLabs has started over 30 life science and technology companies, including Joule Unlimited, Seres Therapeutics, Pronutria Biosciences, Symbiota and Moderna Therapeutics. For more information, please visit www.flagshipventures.com/venturelabs.

About Flagship Ventures

Realizing entrepreneurial innovation is the mission of Flagship Ventures. Founded in 2000, the firm has launched 30 companies while investing in another 50. Flagship manages $1.4 billion in capital and is active in three principal sectors: therapeutics, health technologies, and sustainability. Flagship's current portfolio includes Acceleron (NASDAQ: XLRN), Agios (NASDAQ: AGIO), BIND Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BIND), Concert Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CNCE), Eleven Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: EBIO), T2 Biosystems (NASDAQ: TTOO), as well as several private companies: Editas Medicine, Pronutria Biosciences, Seres Therapeutics and Moderna Therapeutics. For more information, please visit www.flagshipventures.com.