Meet The Lebanese Chairman Behind The Vaccine Company With 94% Effectiveness
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Noubar Afeyan is the Lebanese chairman of Moderna Therapeutics, a company whose COVID-19 vaccine has shown a 94% effectiveness in advanced stages of research.
Noubar Afeyan, American-Lebanese entrepreneur, venture capitalist, inventor, technologist, and CEO was born to Armenian parents in Lebanon.
Noubar grew up in Beirut, until reaching the age of 13 when his family moved to Montreal, Canada in 1976. The entrepreneur attended McGill University and graduated with a BS in Chemical Engineering in 1983.
Noubar was accepted to a Ph.D. program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), at the time the only school with an advanced program in biochemical engineering.
After earning his Ph.D. in 1987 at the age of 24, Afeyan started his first company. “I was naïve to think I could start a company with so little experience,” he told Forbes in an interview.
However, it worked out.
For 10 years, Noubar Afeyan headed PerSeptive Biosystems, which became the number two company in the bio-instrumentation field before it was acquired by Perkin Elmer/Applera Corporation in 1998.
In 1999, Afeyan founded Flagship Ventures, which develops new companies through its in-house division “VentureLabs” and also invests in startups.
Afeyan overseas VentureLabs as Senior Managing Partner and CEO of Flagship Ventures. The company has a unique approach in that it conducts its own research and forms new companies after the research has started to bear fruit.
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Lane Turner/Globe Staff – Boston GlobeUsing this approach, Flagship Ventures and VentureLabs have launched dozens of startup companies, primarily in the life sciences and sustainability industry.
“We spend a lot of time at Flagship Ventures identifying problems and coming up with solutions that produce intellectual property that can be used to create innovations and ultimately new approaches and new companies,” Afeyan told Forbes.
Moderna Therapeutics, which Noubar co-founded and helped lead as chairman, might be Flagship Ventures’ most successful startup. Founded in 2009, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company is already valued at $3 billion and employs over 300 people.
Not just that, the drugmaker Moderna announced that its coronavirus vaccine was 94.5% effective, competing with Pfizer as a front-runner in the global race to contain a raging pandemic that has killed so far 1.2 million people worldwide.
Afeyan has authored numerous scientific publications and patents. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow, and several advisory boards, including the World Economic Forum’s Emerging Technology Council, MIT’s Whitehead Institute, the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST), and the Boston University Medical School.
Interestingly enough, Afeyan believes that being an immigrant and an entrepreneur are complementary. “What keeps you from innovating is being comfortable,” he told Forbes. “If you’re an immigrant, then you’re used to being out of your comfort zone.”
Now, he has helped build 38 companies and is the leading man behind a company that might save the world from a deadly pandemic.
From Agop Kayayan
ReplyDeleteDear Habib and friends and colleagues,
I read the message sent by Habib about the CEO of Moderna. It is impressive. I want to say something which I hope you will believe.
I am of Armenian descent and I will defend the sad history of my parents. My father arrived riding on top of a train during the cold season. My mother came with an orphanage. My maternal grandmother gave away three of the youngest children to an orphanage to save them, knowing well that she would never see them again. She did about 40 years later.
I am also a Lebanese citizen who believes in my country of Lebanon. A country that has suffered many deaths. I am like most Lebanese of Armenian descent, grateful to the people of Lebanon who accepted all the arriving Armenian refugees without conditions. A true sign of generosity. I am above all a Lebanese, of Armenian descent. I am proud of Lebanon. People who are generous. People who endured difficulties and came back on top. I hope my country will overcome the recent tragedy and I hope it will rid itself of the corruption of the few.
I was happy to see a Lebanese of Armenian descent be so successful. I hope he will contribute freely the vaccines for Lebanon. If you know of anyone with his contact, I think we should, as a group of ex or present UNICEF staff make the proposal to him. I would not be surprised if we get a positive answer. If you agree with me we should find a way of contacting him and propose my suggestion. The worst that can happen, as my ex mother in law used to say very wisely, would be kind no.
Please consider this suggestion and let me know. I am willing to prepare the message if you all believe that it is worth trying. We could suggest that an entity above suspicion, like the American University Hospital or UNICEF, deliver the vaccines. Remember our ex executive director is a Board member of AUB. I am copying this message to our dear ex deputy executive director so he is aware of the proposal and could perhaps help us in our thinking.
Richard Jolly what do you think about the proposal?
My very best regards to all, Agop Kayayan
PS, I just noticed that only one woman from Lebanon received a copy of the message. UNICEF should do a special effort to recruit very capable Lebanese women!
From Richard Jolly on 23 Nov 2020
DeleteDear Agop and others,
I think this is a great idea -and I hope Agop will write direct to the CEO of Moderna asking for his support. I would suggest that UNICEF be asked to deliver the vaccines and play a major role -more international than the AUB, good as AUB is. Good luck. The vaccine is certainly listing spirits I many places of the world, after a long lockdown. Best wishes, Richard
From Agop Kayayan on 23 Nov 2020
DeleteRichard,
I knew I could count on your support. Valuable advice. My one concern comes from, of course, a Brazilian saying that goes something like “The early bird gets the best worms”. We should act before others come with similar ideas. Agop
From Saad Houry on 23 Nov 2020
ReplyDeleteDear Habib, Agop, Dr. Jolly and Friends,
Hello from Beirut. That the CEO of Moderna turned out to be a Lebanese of Armenian descent is probably the best news the Lebanese people received in more than a year now. It made them very proud. Alas, it also convinced lots of young people that their future lies outside the country.
As you may know, Lebanon is eligible to COVAX, the facility allowing low- and middle-income countries to secure doses of COVID-19 vaccines at the same time as high-income countries.
However, Lebanon as it was classified as an upper-middle income country before the disastrous devaluation of its currency, is supposed to pay for its vaccines. It would indeed be wonderful if the CEO of Moderna could offer all (?) or even a portion of the vaccines to Lebanon, free of charge.
For information,
- the Moderna vaccine can be stored at 4 degrees c (fridge temperature - a serious advantage over the Pfizer one).
- the cost of one dose is rumored to be around $25.
- Unicef is a partner of GAVI/WHO in COVAX.
I am in touch with the Unicef representative and will discuss with her how a coordinated HQs/Lebanon Country Office approach can be achieved. I will keep you updated.
Warmest regards, saad
From Agop Kayayan 24 Nov 2020
DeleteDear Saad,
Thanks for your response. I believe Lebanon has a special reason easily comprehensible lends for receiving the vaccines at no cost.
1.-The amount of vaccines is among the smaller countries;
2.-The country suffered n enormous human made disaster;
3.-For various reasons most of which external the country is in a extremely difficult financial situation.
I believe that an attempt should be made very soon. The vaccine will be available soon and the arrangements in case our request is approved completely or partially, we should make many other arrangements.
I believe, without having met the CEO of Moderna, that he would be touched by the situation of Lebanon and he would try to assist. Besides, we would have nothing to lose. As my ex mother in law used to say, he can only say no.
If there is agreement I suggest that a message be sent by Richard Jolly ( as the deputy executive director of Jim Grant) and the Executive director of UNICEF, making the request. I volunteer to prepare a draft of the joint message. I have no contact with UNICEF NY.
I need to know if the idea is acceptable and if positive someone to revise a draft message.
Saad it is a possibility. We will only know if it will successful if we ask. And asking in this case costs almost nothing. We need the agreement of the Executive Director and Richard Jolly. If this proposal is accepted someone should ask the EXDIR.
Agop Kayayan
From Saad Houry 24 Nov 2020
DeleteDear Friends,
As promised, I reached out to Yukie Mokuo, the Unicef rep in Lebanon.
She welcomed the idea and shared the following information:
Unicef is assisting the government in the procurement of vaccines. The MoH is currently pursuing two separate tracks: (1) GAVI/COVAX facility (which procurement will be processed by UNICEF); (2) a bilateral contract with Pfizer.
UNICEF will be supporting MoPH together with WHO and WB on “national vaccine deployment and vaccination plan” - which should articulate the priority population, distribution, cold chain management, communication etc.
Based on the exchanges I had with Habib and Agop, I suggested to Yukie that they could follow a two-pronged approach at this stage:
1. Lebanon classification according to GNI: PD would be the best interlocuteur to convince GAVI that Lebanon is not a uMIC anymore. The WB office in Lebanon can help set the record straight. This would allow the country to benefit from GAVI financing.
2. PFP is obviously key in reaching out to the CEO of Moderna. A combined US fund for Unicef / ED approach (or ED alone, whatever is more appropriate) may be required. In this connection, Carla who heads Public Partnerships (ex-PFO) and is moving to PFP (ex-PSD) soon, may be very helpful in this matter.
I assured her that we have no intention to bypass the office or Unicef but were bringing the issue to their attention - as it has the potential to be of huge benefit to the country.
Thank you for your contributions. I will keep you updated.
Warm regards. Keep safe, saad