Somerville, Mass. – June 13, 2024 – Generate:Biomedicines today announced the appointment of Rupert Vessey, M.D., Ph.D., and Nancy Simonian, M.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Vessey’s expertise in early-stage drug discovery and evolving bioplatforms, combined with Dr. Simonian’s success in clinical development and bringing therapies to patients, will further the company’s mission to revolutionize drug discovery and development.
“As Generate begins to see early clinical data and expand the applications of its generative AI platform, the combined expertise of Rupert and Nancy will be a significant asset,” said Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chairman of Generate:Biomedicines and Founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering. “On behalf of the Board, we look forward to working with them to realize the full potential of Generate’s transformative and pioneering approach to drug discovery and development.”
Dr. Vessey brings a wealth of experience in the early stages of drug discovery. He served as Executive Vice President and President, Research at Bristol-Myers Squibb, and has held senior leadership roles at Celgene, Merck and GlaxoSmithKline, overseeing numerous programs from initial discovery through proof-of-concept. Dr. Vessey’s strategic insights and hands-on experience with bioplatforms, particularly in his role at Flagship Pioneering as Chief Scientist and Executive Partner, will be instrumental in advancing The Generate Platform and the company’s early-stage programs.
Dr. Simonian is a recognized leader in clinical development, with a proven track record of successfully bringing new therapies to patients. As the founding CEO of Syros Pharmaceuticals, she transformed the company from a startup into a publicly traded late clinical-stage company. Dr. Simonian has overseen the development of groundbreaking therapies such as AVONEX, TYSABRI, VELCADE and ENTYVIO during her time at Biogen and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, making a significant impact on patient care. Her experience and leadership in company building and advancing clinical programs will greatly enhance the company’s efforts to deliver next-generation therapeutics.
“We are thrilled to welcome Rupert and Nancy to our Board,” said Mike Nally, Chief Executive Officer of Generate:Biomedicines and CEO-Partner, Flagship Pioneering. “Rupert’s extensive experience in early-stage drug discovery and innovative bioplatforms will guide us as we continue to explore new frontiers in drug development. Nancy’s proven leadership in translating discoveries into transformative therapies will help accelerate our progress from bench to bedside. Together, they will enhance our ability to leverage cutting-edge science to more swiftly deliver better medicines to patients.”
About Generate:Biomedicines
Generate:Biomedicines is the first drug generation company pioneering a machine learning-powered generative biology platform with the ability to create new drugs on demand across a wide range of biologic modalities. The Generate Platform – which is a continuous loop to generate, build, measure, and learn – can drastically increase the speed at which targets and therapeutics are identified and validated. This will improve the specificity of target engagement by generated proteins and reduce the time and cost of identifying and developing clinical candidates. Generate:Biomedicines is a clinical stage company that was founded by Flagship Pioneering after two years of foundational research in its Labs unit and launched in 2020. Learn more about Generate:Biomedicines by visiting www.generatebiomedicines.com or by following the company on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Generate Media Contact
Megan McLaughlin
pr@generatebiomedicines.com