Flagship Ventures Honors CEO of Agios Pharmaceuticals with Entrepreneur of the Year Award

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Flagship Ventures, a leading firm focused on conceiving, launching, resourcing and growing unprecedented companies and innovations, awarded David Schenkein, M.D., chief executive officer of Agios Pharmaceuticals, the firm's Entrepreneur of the Year award. Given annually, the award recognizes an executive who has demonstrated great passion for and commitment to pioneering advancements in the life sciences. Dr. Schenkein accepted the award at Flagship's 2016 Annual Meeting, held last week in Boston, Massachusetts.

Agios is focused on discovering and developing novel medicines that leverage scientific leadership in cellular metabolism to transform the lives of people with cancer and rare genetic disorders. In addition to an active research and discovery pipeline across both therapeutic areas, Agios has multiple first-in-class investigational medicines in cancer metabolism and rare genetic disorders of metabolism in clinical and/or preclinical development.

"David sets the standard for life sciences leaders with his commitment to patients and passion for translating cutting-edge science into life-changing products. His integrity and vision represent the spirit of biotechnology innovation at its best," said Douglas Cole, M.D., managing partner of Flagship Ventures. "We congratulate David on his leadership in creating a company that we at Flagship are very proud of."

Under Dr. Schenkein's leadership, Agios has earned a reputation for unwavering adherence to rigorous scientific principles and deep dedication to the patients the company seeks to help. Dr. Schenkein has assembled a leading group of scientists, clinicians and business executives across the multiple disciplines that contribute to pioneering new drugs for the future. The Agios team has discovered and advanced a growing pipeline of programs to address unmet needs for patients with cancer and rare genetic disorders.

"I am pleased to accept this award and thank the entire Agios team for their hard work, commitment to patients and incredible vision for the science," said Dr. Schenkein. "I deeply appreciate Flagship's support of Agios and their efforts to help us realize our mission to build a sustainable, multi-product biopharmaceutical company."

About Flagship Ventures
Flagship Ventures is a leader in generating pioneering companies through its unique, science-based innovation platform. The firm invents, launches and finances innovative, early-stage companies. Founded in 2000 and based in Cambridge, Mass., Flagship Ventures manages over $1.4 billion in capital. Flagship's current portfolio includes Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AGIO), Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MCRB), Editas Medicine (NASDAQ: EDIT) and Syros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SYRS), as well as private companies including Moderna Therapeutics, Indigo Agriculture and Axcella Health. The Flagship team innovates and invests in three principal business sectors: therapeutics, health technologies and sustainability. For more information, visit www.flagshipventures.com.

SOURCE Flagship Ventures

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