Flagship Pioneering, a U.S. biotech venture capital (VC) firm that gave birth to Moderna, developer of a COVID-19 vaccine, has appointed Lee Byung-gun, Chairperson of the Bio Venture Special Committee at the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association (KPBMA), as Special Advisor for Korea to strengthen collaboration with Korea's bio industry.
Flagship Pioneering (Flagship) said on the 15th, "We have appointed Chairperson Lee Byung-gun as Flagship's Special Advisor for Korea," adding, "The advisor will support the development of strategic partnerships in Korea and expansion in the Asia-Pacific region."
The advisor is a leading expert who has worked in Korea's pharmaceutical and biotech industry for nearly 40 years, having led growth at major domestic drugmakers such as GC Biopharma as CEO and Chong Kun Dang as vice chair, as well as the listings of bio venture corporations such as SCM Lifescience and GI Innovation.
In addition, Lee served as chair of the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization and head of the Advanced Regenerative Medicine Industry Council, and currently serves as Chairperson of the Bio Venture Special Committee at the pharmaceutical and biotech association and as chair of the Korea Support Committee of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI).
Flagship is expected to strengthen cooperative ties in Korea's bio sector through this appointment of Lee as Special Advisor.
Founded in 2000, Flagship is a biotech-focused VC that nurtures a "startup-style bio model." It identifies scientists with promising technologies and helps them launch startups (new venture corporations), supporting them through commercialization, including initial public offerings (IPOs). Assets under management total $14.1 billion (about 19.4 trillion won), with 350 investments and 170 startups launched.
Earlier, early last year, Flagship signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with three Samsung Group units—Samsung C&T, Samsung Biologics, and Samsung Bioepis—for the development of new bio technologies. In particular, Flagship founder Noubar Afeyan is also known as a figure whom Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong sought strategic advice from on the pharmaceutical and biotech industry in 2021.
The strategic collaboration between Samsung and Flagship took its first step in 2022. Cend Therapeutics in the United States, the second bio venture invested in by the Samsung Life Science Fund of the three Samsung affiliates, is a company formed by merging four nanoparticle research and development firms invested in by Flagship. Samsung has since continued to invest in Ring Therapeutics and Generate Biomedicines, both created by Flagship.
In Jul. last year, Samsung also invested in a fund managed by Flagship. Through the Samsung Life Science Fund II, it committed 72 billion won to the "Flagship Pioneering Fund VIII."
In Nov. 2023, Flagship also recruited André Andonian, who has deep ties to Korea, as head of the Asia-Pacific office. Andonian led consulting across Asia, including Korea and Japan, for 34 years at global consulting firm McKinsey and currently serves as a senior partner emeritus at McKinsey.