Flagship Pioneering Bolsters Executive Team with Appointment of Michelle C. Werner as CEO-Partner and CEO of Alltrna

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Apr 11, 2022, 06:00 ET

Werner Brings More Than Two Decades of Pharmaceutical Leadership to the Role

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Flagship Pioneering, the bioplatform innovation company, today announced it has strengthened its executive leadership team with the appointment of Michelle C. Werner to the dual role of CEO-Partner of Flagship Pioneering and Chief Executive Officer of Alltrna. Werner brings to Flagship significant experience as a global pharmaceutical leader spanning both Commercial and Research and Development (R&D) responsibilities.

Michelle C. Werner, CEO-Partner, Flagship Pioneering & CEO, Alltrna

Werner most recently served as Worldwide Franchise Head, Solid Tumors at Novartis Oncology. In this role, she was responsible for delivering the disease area strategies across multiple tumors and led business development efforts to strengthen the long-term portfolio value for the franchise.

"Flagship and our companies will benefit tremendously from Michelle's proven expertise in advancing and commercializing promising innovations on a global scale," said Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Flagship Pioneering. "Michelle is the latest example of the growing number of highly skilled leaders joining Flagship Pioneering in this unique dual role, and I look forward to her contributions across the entire ecosystem."

"I am delighted to join Flagship Pioneering as CEO-Partner and to work closely with the Flagship leadership team to develop breakthrough innovations that have a significant impact on the health of people and our planet," said Michelle C. Werner, CEO-Partner, Flagship Pioneering and CEO, Alltrna. "Leading Alltrna combines both my experience and my passions, and I am eager to help the team realize the full therapeutic potential of tRNA across a wide range of diseases."

"Alltrna's platform unlocks tRNA biology to design and develop therapeutics to regulate the protein universe and resolve disease," said Lovisa Afzelius, Ph.D., Origination Partner, Flagship Pioneering and Founding CEO, Alltrna. "I am thrilled to welcome Michelle to Alltrna, whose leadership will guide the company to deliver on its promise of treating thousands of diseases with a single tRNA medicine."

About Michelle C. Werner
Prior to serving at Novartis, Werner was a senior leader at AstraZeneca (AZ), where she held multiple positions during her five-year tenure. As Global Franchise Head in Hematology, she was critical in launching multiple indications worldwide for CALQUENCE® and was responsible for developing the mid- and long-term strategy for AZ in hematology. Prior to this role, Werner served as Head of US Oncology where she led the business through dramatic growth in both team and revenue through more than eight product launches. She also served as Country President for the Nordics and Baltics, where she was an elected board member to Sweden's pharmaceutical industry association.

Previous to AZ, Werner was with Bristol-Myers Squibb for 10 years in various positions of increasing responsibility including roles in sales, marketing, and market access in the US and UK, and above market in Europe (based in France) and Global, almost exclusively in oncology. She started her professional career in R&D, working hands-on with patients at the Oncology Clinical Trials Unit at Harvard Medical School before moving into industry in clinical operations.

Werner is a board member for the non-profit organization Rare Disease Renegades. She received a BA in Biology and Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the London Business School. She also completed an Executive Education program for Women on Boards at Harvard Business School in 2018.

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).