adMare Global Leader Series Featuring Dr. Avak Kahvejian: Entering the Age of Programmable Medicines Powered by Generative Algorithms

Join us on September 13th, at 12 PM ET, for an adMare Global Leader Series featuring Dr. Avak Kahvejian, General Partner at Flagship Pioneering, for a presentation on Entering the Age of Programmable Medicines Powered by Generative Algorithms. 

Programmable medicines are those that can be derived directly from an understanding of a disease or a threat rather than discovered serendipitously. Advances in molecular engineering, biomanufacturing, analytical tools and artificial intelligence have accelerated the development of programmable medicines by expanding our understanding of biology and enabling new possibilities in the design and optimization of novel therapeutic modalities. This talk will discuss Flagship Pioneering’s approach to the creation of programmable medicines powered by generative algorithms and highlight key use cases from the Flagship ecosystem across a diverse range of modalities, including nucleic acid medicines, protein therapeutics and small molecule drugs. 

This is an event you won’t want to miss; register today! 

About Avak Kahvejian, Ph.D 

Avak Kahvejian, Ph.D., is a life sciences inventor, entrepreneur, and CEO who has co-founded more than ten companies. Since 2011, he has been a partner at Flagship Pioneering, where he leads a team to invent and launch new therapeutic platforms. His work has led to the creation of multiple high-value public and private companies including Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MCRB), the first microbiome therapy platform; Ring Therapeutics (revolutionizing gene therapy with its commensal virome platform); Cellarity (designing medicines against the cell as opposed to a single molecular target); Laronde (a predecessor to Sail Biomedicines which pioneered endless RNA – eRNA™ – a new class of programmable medicines capable of expressing therapeutic proteins inside the body); Generate Biomedicines (pioneering Generative Biology™ to create breakthrough medicines); ProFound Therapeutics (pioneering the expanded human proteome); Ampersand Biomedicines (designing and programming medicines to act only where needed); Abiologics (reimagining biologics with Synteins™, a new class of supranatural medicines); Cygnal Therapeutics (now part of Sonata Tx, a company designing therapeutics that reprogram diseased cells to become the coordinators of cure); Rubius Therapeutics (red blood cell therapeutics); and Codiak BioSciences (engineered exosome therapeutics). 

Avak served as founding President and CEO of Rubius from 2013 to 2017, as co-CEO of Generate from 2018 to 2021, and as founding CEO of Cellarity (2017 to 2020), Laronde (2017 to 2020), Ring (2017 to 2020), ProFound (2020 to 2023), Ampersand (2021 to 2023), and Abiologics (2021 to present). He is on the boards of Cellarity, Sail, and Ring and Chairman of Ampersand and ProFound. 

Prior to Flagship, Avak was Vice President of Business Development at Helicos BioSciences. In this role, he developed and commercialized the world’s first single-molecule DNA sequencer. 

Avak serves as the Chairman of the Board of the International Institute of New England, an institution that creates opportunities for refugees and immigrants to succeed through resettlement, education, career advancement and pathways to citizenship. He is also on the Board of Genome Canada, the Advisory Board of the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST), and the McGill University Regional Advisory Board US. 

Avak earned his Ph.D. and B.Sc. in Biochemistry from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.