Flagship Pioneering Announces Appointment of Junaid Bajwa as Senior Partner, Head of United Kingdom, and Science Partner for Pioneering Intelligence

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Oct 23, 2024, 08:00 ET

CAMBRIDGE, Masss. and LONDON, Oct. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Flagship Pioneering, the bioplatform innovation company, today announced that Junaid Bajwa, M.D., has joined its London office as Senior Partner and Head of United Kingdom. In this role, Dr. Bajwa will play an integral role in advancing new strategic opportunities and partnerships for Flagship and its ecosystem of companies in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe. Dr. Bajwa will also serve as Science Partner for Pioneering Intelligence, Flagship's strategic initiative that is building unique AI/ML knowledge to accelerate innovation across the ecosystem.

Dr. Bajwa joins Flagship from Microsoft Research, where he has served as Chief Medical Scientist. During his tenure, he focused on how trusted, reliable, and human-centered artificial intelligence (AI) can revolutionize the practice of medicine. His extensive background, spanning over two decades, includes experience in primary care, secondary care, and public health settings. Dr. Bajwa has worked as a payer and policymaker in the UK, specializing in informatics, digital transformation, and leadership.

"Junaid has broad and deep experience across AI and healthcare, and a track record of driving successful outcomes in the UK," said Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering. "His unique blend of clinical experience, leadership in medical science, and background in tech and AI will be invaluable as we continue to expand our footprint in the UK and to drive innovation in the life sciences sector globally."

"What drew me to Flagship was the entrepreneurial mindset, the opportunity to continually learn, and the chance to harness my clinical and technical background for further impact," added Dr. Bajwa. "I look forward to partnering with the talented team in the UK and throughout Flagship globally to collaborate with the healthcare system, inclusive of payers, providers, and regulators, to innovate for the benefit of the patients."

About Junaid Bajwa

Junaid Bajwa has over two decades of experience across primary care, secondary care, and public health settings. Dr. Bajwa has also worked as a payer and policy maker in the UK, specializing in informatics, digital transformation, and leadership. He joins Flagship from Microsoft Research where he served as Chief Medical Scientist focusing on how trusted, reliable, and human-centered AI can transform the practice of medicine. In this role, he led a number of strategic partnerships with leading health and life sciences organizations and spearheaded Responsible AI initiatives in the sector. He was previously the Global Lead for Strategic Alliances and Solutions for the Global Digital Centre of Excellence at Merck Sharp & Dohme where he led a range of strategic initiatives to improve patient care including the establishment of internal partnerships across the enterprise and external partnerships across the health care ecosystem. Junaid cofounded VelocityHealth, Europe's first prevention-focused digital-health accelerator, in partnership with Telefonica, and has consulted for health care systems across the US, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Middle East, and Europe.

Dr. Bajwa serves on the boards of University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and HDR UK, a national institute for health data science. He is also a Clinical Associate Professor at University College London and a Visiting Scientist at both the Harvard School of Public Health and NTU Singapore.

A practicing physician, Dr. Bajwa is triple board certified in internal medicine, surgery, and primary care, and gained his medical degree from King's College London. He received his MBA at the Imperial College Business School in London.

For more about Dr. Bajwa's journey to Flagship and what excites him about the UK's role in helping drive biotech innovation, watch "Three Questions with Junaid Bajwa."

About Flagship Pioneering

Flagship Pioneering invents and builds bioplatform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health or sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in more than $75 billion in aggregate value. Flagship is operating with $14 billion of assets under management as of its latest capital raise, announced in July 2024. The current Flagship ecosystem comprises 43 companies, including Foghorn Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FHTX), Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), Omega Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OMGA), Sana Biotechnology (NASDAQ: SANA), Generate Biomedicines, Inari, Indigo Agriculture, and Tessera Therapeutics.