From fleeing war-torn Lebanon to becoming a trailblazing scientist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, Noubar Afeyan embodies the spirit of a true pioneer. As founder of Flagship Pioneering, co-founder of Moderna, and a prominent advocate of various humanitarian projects, he serves as an inspiration for those who take risks to make a difference.
Afeyan was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to a family of Armenian descent. When the civil war escalated in 1975, his family left the country and sought refuge in Montreal, Canada. After navigating the adversities of high school in a new country, he pursued an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering at McGill Univ. In addition to his interest in physics and math, his decision to pursue engineering stemmed from his father鈥檚 work in the manufacturing of plastics in both Lebanon and Montreal. While a student at McGill Univ., he worked at Union Carbide and Dow 91成人短视频 during the summers.
After receiving his undergraduate degree in 1983, he pursued a PhD in biochemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). At the time, MIT was recruiting its very first cohort of students for this field. 鈥淚 was drawn to the cutting-edge technology of the field,鈥� recalls Afeyan. The early 1980s marked the beginning of the convergence of chemical engineering, computing, and biotechnology. The integration of computer simulation and process design in particular piqued Afeyan鈥檚 interest and inspired him to pursue graduate-level research in an adjacent field. 鈥淚t was a big deal back in the day,鈥� he says.
The conversation that created an entrepreneur
During his graduate studies, one particular conversation changed the course of his life. In 1985, Afeyan, unbeknownst to him at the time, had the chance to talk to David Packard from Hewlett Packard about his post-PhD plans. 鈥淚 thought I was going to go into the pharmaceutical industry,鈥� recounts Afeyan. 鈥淏ut after learning how he and Hewlett had started Hewlett Packard, I decided that I would try to start a company.鈥�
And that鈥檚 exactly what he did. Upon completing his graduate degree in 1987, Afeyan started his own company to make instruments to meet the technical needs of bioengineers. 鈥淚t was crazy because back then, if you were 24 years old and an immigrant, you didn鈥檛 actually start companies,鈥� he remarks. Building his company from scratch was essentially a crash course in entrepreneurship that ultimately led to success: He was able to turn it into a $100-million company known as PerSeptive Biosystems, which became a leader in the field of protein instrumentation.
Entrepreneurship based on engineering principles
Throughout the 90s, Afeyan co-founded several other companies. During this time, he began to wonder how entrepreneurship could be done in a repeatable, 鈥渆ngineering-like鈥� manner, much like a batch process. After selling PerSeptive Biosystems along with a few other companies, he founded Flagship Pioneering (formerly known as NewcoGen), a biotech venture creation firm, in 2000.
Flagship Pioneering fuels positive impact in the field of biotechnology. The periodic table-like graphic in the background highlights companies launched by Flagship.
Afeyan likens the basis of Flagship鈥檚 methodology to laboratory-based evolution 鈥� variation is created systematically and selection pressure is applied iteratively to converge breakthrough ideas. Since its founding, Flagship has launched approximately 110 companies, of which almost 90 have been conceived by teams fully in house. Of the 110 companies, 48 are currently operating, including Moderna (mRNA therapeutics), Inari Agriculture (multiplex gene editing in seeds), and Seres Therapeutics (first microbiome-based human therapeutics), among many others.
Afeyan credits his immigrant experience for shaping his drive to bridge science and entrepreneurship. 鈥淚ronically, it made me less afraid of being in a survivalist mode,鈥� he says. Afeyan believes that if you feel like you have nothing to lose and allow yourself to take risks without being fazed by the consequences, then you learn how to persist.
鈥淧eople mistake the comfort of risk avoidance with the fact that usually, there is not much opportunity in risk avoidance,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hereas if you go to the cutting edge and there are very few people doing something, then that creates impact.鈥�
Comfort with risk led to Moderna
Nowhere is this guiding principle more apparent than in Moderna鈥檚 development of one of the first mRNA vaccines for COVID-19. Many people believe that the COVID-19 pandemic sparked the development of mRNA vaccines. However, Moderna had developed the platform for mRNA therapeutics years in advance and had already tested nine different mRNA human vaccines for various other diseases. 鈥淣obody else was working on it at the time, so we were kind of all on our own at the edge,鈥� remembers Afeyan, noting the initial negative response to mRNA therapeutics.
When the pandemic affected millions of lives and livelihoods, however, Moderna already had the technology in place to react quickly. Their mRNA vaccine was ready for human testing within 40 days after initial development, and eventually, an emergency use authorization (EUA) was granted within 10 to 11 months by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The only difficulty they faced at the time was manufacturing and distributing the vaccine to meet the overwhelming demand for their life-saving product.
鈥淲e felt we had a pretty high probability of success given what we had seen in the nine other trials. But what we had no experience with was the scale-up,鈥� notes Afeyan. Despite many challenges, successful scale-up led to the vaccination of more than 22 million Americans by 2021 with Moderna鈥檚 vaccine, saving countless lives.
His success now fuels humanitarian efforts
Outside of his notable contributions in the biotech industry, Afeyan, along with his wife, has been greatly involved in humanitarian and philanthropic efforts for 25 years. His commitment to humanitarian causes is deeply personal, stemming from his family鈥檚 experiences as refugees and survivors of the Armenian genocide. In 2015, on the centennial anniversary of the genocide, he helped found the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, which seeks to address humanitarian challenges around the world. The philanthropic organization grants the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity to those who risk their lives to save others suffering from violent conflict. Aurora Prize Laureates are awarded $1 million to support grassroots humanitarian efforts.
鈥淭his prize is a way to support and pay tribute to the people who saved the lives of my and other people鈥檚 ancestors,鈥� states Afeyan. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to put the human back in humanitarian to show that it鈥檚 human beings doing these things. They鈥檙e the ones saving lives.鈥�
Thus far, the Aurora Prize has recognized approximately 70 finalists and humanitarians from thousands of nominations, serving as a nexus for humanitarianism and a beacon of hope.
An eye on AI in biotech
Looking ahead, Afeyan believes that we鈥檒l see further integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI in the biotech industry. AI coupled with biology and technology will aid scientists and engineers in developing more effective and safer medicines, along with preemptive medicines that will delay the onset or progression of diseases. Afeyan thinks that people greatly underestimate the degree to which AI will alter science. 鈥淚 have not been as optimistic that in whatever time I have left, there could be decades of work done,鈥� he says confidently. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what this technology is demonstrating right in front of my eyes, so I could not be more optimistic.鈥�
With over three decades of experience and having taught entrepreneurship classes at MIT, one piece of advice he has for the next generation of innovators is to not be afraid of taking risks. He notes that at the edges of an emerging field, there is far less competition, and that what looks to be a perilous activity can actually reap many rewards.
Noubar Afeyan delivered the commencement address for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology鈥檚 (MIT鈥檚) Class of 2024. There, he advised the next generation of leaders to not be afraid of taking risks, 鈥渆mbrace uncertainty, and lead with imagination.鈥�
鈥淚nstead of minimizing risks,鈥� says Afeyan, 鈥淚 would advise people to look for the risk that is maximally rewarding and take it.鈥�
This article originally appeared in the Profile column in the February 2025 issue of CEP. Members have access online to complete issues, including a vast, searchable archive of back-issues found at www.aiche.org/cep.