Noubar Afeyan
@NoubarAfeyan
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Pioneering innovations for a better future for people & the planet. Founder & CEO @FlagshipPioneer, the life sciences co that founded @moderna_tx and many more.
Cambridge, MA
Joined October 2013
Nature’s adaptive genius has long been a fascination of mine. With the rapid rise of AI, I have been pondering the notion of intelligence, in all its forms. In my 2025 Annual Letter, I explore what we call polyintelligence: the synthesis of human, machine, and nature’s intelligence and how harnessing their interconnections stands to reshape the nature of discovery itself. I hope you will read it and share your thoughts:
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For a more expansive look at this phenomenon, read or listen to my 2025 annual letter:
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Please read @IgnatiusPost piece on the unjust jailing of philanthropist and patriot Ruben Vardanyan. The Aurora Prize is one important example of his efforts to spread human rights and lift up humanitarians — will the U.S. step up? The world is watching.
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RT @DAcemogluMIT: Dear followers, please see my bad-case scenario for where the US economy may be heading in the Financial Times The real…
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RT @TheMilnerInst: We have just announced our speaker line-up for #MilnerSymp25! 👀 Check out our January newsletter for this and more, in…
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RT @moderna_tx: Today we announced that @EC_HERA has awarded Moderna a tender for the supply of our #mRNA #COVID-19 vaccine in the European…
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RT @bradloncar: Public awareness of biotech innovation is almost zero. Larry Ellison sounds like the world’s greatest futurist for talking…
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RT @moderna_tx: Today we announced ongoing support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to accelerate the developmen…
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RT @FlagshipPioneer: What a week at #JPM25! Don’t miss all our #FlagshipStudio content available here: https://t.co…
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RT @FlagshipPioneer: This #JPM25, Yvonne Greenstreet, CEO of @Alnylam, joined Flagship Pioneering Founder and CEO @NoubarAfeyan in our #Fla…
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Please read these compelling facts. We should all remain vigilant, and do what we can to promote the prospect of a fair trial and avoid a grotesque injustice.
Statement by Ruben Vardanyan, Armenian Political Prisoner Illegally Incarcerated in Azerbaijan (conveyed to his family during his weekly phone call) January 16, 2025 I would like to address the global community, to those who care about what is happening in our region, those opposed to religious persecution worldwide and those who wish for a lasting and genuine peace. I, Ruben Vardanyan, have been detained at the Detention Center of the State Security Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan since September 27, 2023 – more than 470 days in total, including 340 days in solitary confinement and 23 days in a punishment cell. I would like to make an official statement before the start of the trial. If you are reading these words, it means that I have exhausted all other means to convey the truth about what is happening here. A court hearing of my case is scheduled for January 17 at 3:00 PM. I have been informed that I am facing 42 charges, some of which carry sentences up to life imprisonment. However, I have not been granted the opportunity to fully review the official indictment. My lawyer and I were merely allowed to skim through 422 volumes of the case files, all written solely in theAzerbaijani language, which I do not understand, within a very short timeframe – from December 9, 2024, to January 8, 2025. I only received the list of charges in Russian on January 8, 2025. Moreover, pressure has been exerted on me, my lawyer, and my interpreter to force us to backdate and sign documents, including falsified protocols and records of interrogations that never took place. I officially declare: I have given no testimony since the day of my arrest, except during the first interrogation, where I only stated my name and surname. Let me reiterate: all protocols bearing my signature are falsifications. These documents do not exist in reality. My lawyer and interpreter were coerced into signing these documents. I once again reiterate and state my complete innocence and the innocence of my Armenian compatriots also being held as political prisoners and demand an immediate end to this politically motivated case against us. Despite our innocence and the political motivation of this trial, it is most likely that the prosecutor will ignore my plea and pursue a trial against us, in which case I demand and ask for your support in ensuring that I am afforded the following: 1. Allow me and my lawyer adequate time and opportunity to prepare for my defense. In particular, provide us with the opportunity to thoroughly review the case materials in a language I understand. 2. Eliminate all procedural violations and falsifications. Specifically, deem inadmissible all falsified documents and records of interrogations that never took place, as I have not provided any testimony since the day of my arrest. 3. Make my trial, and those of the Armenian political prisoners, public. I insist on the most open trial possible, with the participation of international journalists and representatives of humanitarian organizations. 4. Consolidate my case with the cases of the others accused. More than 400 of the 422 volumes in my case concern episodes from the general case of which only 6 are specifically related to false accusations against me. Separating my case into a separate proceeding is an artificial and unfounded decision. I bear no anger or hatred. On the contrary, I genuinely empathize with all those who violate laws, moral principles, and the teachings of the Quran and other holy texts. I am convinced that true peace will only be possible when the leaders of the countries involved in the conflict, with the support of their societies, can come together to lay flowers on the graves of all those who perished in this war. I promise to do everything possible to ensure this happens during my lifetime. As the great Mahatma Gandhi said, the only way to save the world from self-destruction is to live by the principles of nonviolence, truth, and love. Through compassion for all people, regardless of their skin color, nationality, or religion, we can achieve true peace. Thank you all for your support! I love and thank you all for your kindness toward me. Know that I am standing strong and believe that the truth will prevail. Ruben Vardanyan
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RT @BostonGlobe: Innovation Beat: Recent breakthroughs have reignited excitement over the capability of AI to someday comprehend the world…
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RT @FlagshipPioneer: 🎧 Listen in as Flagship Founder & CEO @NoubarAfeyan reads Flagship’s 2025 annual letter on polyintelligence—the synthe…
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RT @FlagshipPioneer: ➡️@moderna_tx CEO Stéphane Bancel joins the #FlagshipStudio to share updates on the company’s growing pipeline and dis…
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Sometimes life comes full circle. Last week, I had the honor and privilege of visiting The @WhiteHouse to receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI) on behalf of @moderna_tx, alongside Hamilton Bennett, who led Moderna's COVID vaccine development team. The NMTI is the nation’s highest honor for technological achievement, bestowed by the President of the United States and administered by the US Patent and Trademark Office @uspto. It brought to mind the company’s formative days in Flagship labs and our foundational patents that enabled a uniquely programmable medicines platform. I also thought about my friend and longtime collaborator Bob Langer of MIT, himself a National Medal of Science recipient, and the very first meeting he and I had that led Flagship Pioneering to create and build Moderna starting in 2010 with Bob as a co-founder. Our bold proposition was that #mRNA could be harnessed to instruct the body to make any protein it needed, inside the patient’s body. Nearly 15 years later, with lots of ups, downs, highs, lows and detours along the way, Moderna persevered and pioneered, paving the way to not only tame a global pandemic, protecting billions of lives and saving millions more, but also to creating a whole new class of powerful medicines providing protection against a range of infectious diseases and working with partners to develop other medicines that may drastically reduce mortality in certain cancers. I truly believe Moderna’s positive impact on human health is in its earliest stages. Also full circle: to be joined alongside other scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology where I received my PhD and now serve as a trustee on the executive committee (see the proud photo of MIT’s medalists below). A final full circle moment: Friday’s ceremony was held in the Indian Treaty Room, a ceremonial room in the Eisenhower Executive Office building on the White House grounds. I was told that when vaccines first became available to government employees in early 2021, this very same room was where White House employees lined up to receive their lifesaving mRNA vaccines. It reminded me of the circle of scientific innovation, from idea to hypothesis to experiment to conclusion to execution, and on to the next idea. The promise of scientific progress remains the most powerful path forward for our people and our planet, and it was deeply meaningful to be among so many heroes and heroines pushing its boundaries and expanding its frontiers each day. @FlagshipPioneer @NSF @WHOSTP @NSTMF #STEM #STEMed #nms #nmti #nationalmedaloftechnologyandinnovation #nationalmedalofscience #STEMexcellence #STEMaward #POTUS #medalofscience #medaloftechandinnovation
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RT @EricTopol: Do you know about PIEZO receptors? We're learning more about their expansive role every day. A new podcast (with transcript…
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