Noubar Afeyan is an American-Canadian entrepreneur, inventor, and philanthropist.
16 Facts About Noubar Afeyan
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Noubar Afeyan is best known for co-founding the biotechnology company Moderna, through his venture capital firm, Flagship Pioneering, and for co-founding humanitarian projects such as Aurora Prize and The Future Armenian.
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Noubar Afeyan graduated from Loyola High School in Montreal in 1978.
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Noubar Afeyan was the first PhD graduate from MIT's Center for Bioprocess Engineering, at the time the only institution with that degree program.
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In July 2022, Noubar Afeyan was conferred with an honorary doctorate degree from Yerevan State University.
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Noubar Afeyan started his first biotechnology company in 1987, just a few days before Black Monday, and founded or co-founded five more companies within ten years.
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Noubar Afeyan is the founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, a venture capital company focused on biotechnology, in 2000.
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In 2009 Noubar Afeyan co-founded Moderna and currently serves as its chairman.
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Noubar Afeyan owns over 2 million shares in the company; in 2018, Moderna had the biggest IPO in the biotech industry's history.
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In 2021, Noubar Afeyan announced that Moderna would not enforce its patent rights against anyone using those patents to make COVID-19 vaccines.
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Noubar Afeyan sits on the boards of the MIT Corporation, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Armenian General Benevolent Union.
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Noubar Afeyan has worked closely with other prominent Armenian diaspora philanthropists, most notably Ruben Vardanyan on projects related to Armenia.
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Noubar Afeyan had partnered with Vardanyan to establish Initiatives for Development of Armenia, which according to the Armenian government, has between 2007 and 2017 implemented different projects with a total cost of $550 million.
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Noubar Afeyan is a member of the board of UWC Dilijan International School in Armenia, founded by Vardanyan in 2014.
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In November 2020, Noubar Afeyan confirmed that the Canadian government had been among the first countries to pre-order the Moderna vaccine; the country is guaranteed to get some portion of the first batch dispensed to the public.
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In 2023, Noubar Afeyan has called on US politicians and judges to stop questioning established science and over-ruling regulators.