Flagship Pioneering Expands Leadership Team with Appointment of Michael Severino as CEO-Partner

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 13, 2022 -- Flagship Pioneering, the bioplatform innovation company, announced today that Michael Severino, M.D., is joining the company as CEO-Partner. Dr. Severino joins Flagship from AbbVie, Inc. where he served as Vice Chairman and President. As a CEO-Partner, Dr. Severino will play an instrumental role in Flagship Pioneering’s efforts to create and develop groundbreaking innovations in human health and will serve as CEO of a Flagship company to be announced in due course.

With more than two decades of biopharmaceutical leadership, Dr. Severino has made significant contributions to the research, development, registration, and commercialization of more than a dozen approved therapies. In his eight years with AbbVie, he led efforts to build a strong pipeline and advance promising science for patients in the areas of hematologic oncology, immunology, and neuroscience. As Senior Vice President, Global Development and Corporate Chief Medical Officer at Amgen, Inc. he led an organization of more than 2,000 people in 35 countries and oversaw the company’s R&D efforts across all therapeutic areas, including oncology, inflammation neuroscience, and metabolic disorders. Prior to joining Amgen, Dr. Severino was Senior Director at Merck & Co., Inc. where he was responsible for leading research in multiple areas, including clinical genomics, molecular profiling, and experimental medicine.

“Mike’s stellar leadership in biopharmaceutical strategy and R&D will be an excellent addition to Flagship and our ecosystem of companies, and I am pleased to welcome him to our team,” said Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering. “With a track record of developing innovative strategies, driving scientific, operational, and business excellence, and leading transformational change, Mike is an ideal fit for Flagship, where we invent, develop, and scale breakthrough innovations that improve lives.”

"I am thrilled to take on this role and partner with the high-caliber team of world-class scientists, technologists, and business executives assembled by Flagship Pioneering,” said Dr. Michael Severino. “I look forward to applying my experience across all phases of drug discovery, development, and commercialization at Flagship, to help make an important difference for patients.”

Dr. Severino’s appointment follows recent executive appointments to Flagship Pioneering including: Michelle C. Werner, CEO-Partner and CEO of Alltrna; Margo Georgiadis, CEO-Partner; Tom DiLenge, Senior Partner, Global Policy, Regulatory & Governmental Strategy; Vaithianathan “Palani” Palaniappan, Chief Technology Officer of Pioneering Medicines; Justine Levin-Allerhand, Senior Partner, Corporate Development; Kathy Biberstein, General Counsel and Executive Partner; and Dr. Stephen Hahn, CEO-Partner and CEO of Harbinger Health, among others.

About Michael Severino, M.D.
Michael Severino is an accomplished executive with more than two decades of leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and has made significant contributions to the development, registration, and/or commercialization of more than a dozen approved therapies. He joined AbbVie in 2014 as EVP of R&D and Chief Scientific Officer and was promoted to Vice Chairman and President in 2018. In that capacity, he assumed leadership of functions including Business Development and Corporate Strategy while maintaining overall responsibility for R&D. In his eight years with AbbVie, Dr. Severino led efforts to build a strong pipeline and advance promising science for patients in the areas of hematologic oncology, immunology, and neuroscience.

Prior to joining AbbVie in 2014, Dr. Severino was Senior Vice President, Global Development and Corporate Chief Medical Officer at Amgen, Inc. During his tenure at Amgen, he served in multiple leadership positions, including VP, Global Development; VP, Therapeutic Area Head, General Medicine and Inflammation; and Therapeutic Area Head, Inflammation Global Clinical Development. As Senior Vice President he led an organization of more than 2,000 people in 35 countries and oversaw the company’s R&D efforts across all therapeutic areas, including oncology, inflammation neuroscience and metabolic disorders. Prior to joining Amgen, Dr. Severino was Senior Director at Merck & Co., Inc. where he was responsible for leading research in multiple areas, including clinical genomics, molecular profiling, and experimental medicine.

Dr. Severino earned his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland, College Park, where he graduated summa cum laude in 1987 and was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. In 1993, he earned his M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University, where he was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Dr. Severino completed his residency and post-doctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

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 $140 billion in aggregate value. To date, Flagship has deployed over $2.6 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 Axcella Therapeutics (NASDAQ: AXLA), Codiak Biosciences (NASDAQ: CDAK), Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ: DNLI), Evelo Biosciences (NASDAQ: EVLO), Foghorn Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FHTX), Indigo Ag, Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), Omega Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OMGA), Rubius Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RUBY), Sana Biotechnology (NASDAQ: SANA), Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MCRB), and Sigilon Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SGTX).