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Breakthrough Innovations from Flagship VentureLabs Target the Cancer Microbiome

Industry Leader Simba Gill Ph.D. Appointed CEO

Cambridge, Mass., Nov. 4, 2015/PR蘑菇视频APPwire/ -- Flagship Ventures, a leading venture capital and venture creation firm focused on innovations in healthcare and sustainability, announced it has launched Evelo Therapeutics, a new company focused on leveraging the power of the microbiome to develop novel therapies for cancer, with an initial capital commitment of $35 million.

Evelo is pioneering Oncobiotic鈩� therapeutics, a new modality in cancer therapy based on the cancer microbiome.Evelo is the first company to systematically identify, characterize and understand the biology of cancer-associated bacteria (CAB) and bacterial immune activators (BIAs鈩�), providing new insights into cancer metabolism and immuno-oncology. The microbiome is the collection of trillions of microbes that live in and on the human body. In recent years, scientists have found that the microbiome plays a crucial role in many areas of human biology and disease.

Evelo鈥檚 Oncobiotic platform would treat cancer through unprecedented therapeutic modalities. Evelo鈥檚 novel approaches leverage tumor-microenvironment modifications that can be mediated by the microbiome to disrupt tumor metabolism and the interactions between the tumor and surrounding tissue.

Evelo is also exploring novel Oncobiotic approaches that can leverage the ability of bacteria to uniquely and powerfully activate the immune system to fight cancer. In this respect, Evelo is developing a next-generation approach to immuno-oncology that goes beyond check-point inhibitors and CAR-T cell therapies.

鈥淓velo鈥檚 proprietary technologies and platforms lay the foundation for the first company to approach treating cancer through an understanding of the microbiome,鈥� said Dr. Noubar Afeyan, senior managing partner and CEO of Flagship Ventures, and co-founder of Evelo.

鈥淔lagship VentureLabs has been developing therapeutic platforms based on the microbiome for more than five years,鈥� said Dr. David Berry, general partner at Flagship Ventures and co-founder of Evelo. 鈥淲e believe Evelo鈥檚 proprietary Oncobiotic platform will lead to many new important products that revolutionize the treatment of cancer through this next-generation immunotherapy and through manipulation of the tumor microenvironment.鈥�

Evelo is the newest company focused on the microbiome as a source of novel human treatments to emerge from Flagship VentureLabs庐, the innovation foundry of Flagship Ventures. In June, VentureLabs-founded Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MCRB) went public in a $140 million initial public offering.

Evelo announced that Simba Gill, Ph.D., has been appointed chief executive officer. 鈥淚鈥檓 very excited to be joining Evelo,鈥� said Dr. Gill, 鈥渨hich is pioneering microbiome-driven cancer therapies. I look forward to building on Evelo鈥檚 platform to develop many products that have the potential to improve the lives of cancer patients.鈥�

During his 30-year career as entrepreneur, founder and CEO, Dr. Gill has played lead roles in numerous biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Gill was the founding president of Maxygen, the pioneer in directed molecular evolution technologies for pharmaceutical, chemical and agricultural products. While at Maxygen, Dr. Gill helped found Verdia (acquired by DuPont), Avidia (acquired by Amgen), and Codexis (NASDAQ: CDXS). Before joining Maxygen, Dr. Gill led corporate development in the world鈥檚 first stem cell company, Systemix, acquired by Novartis. Earlier, he was global marketing director for Recormon, a treatment for anemia, at Boehringer Mannheim, acquired by Roche.

Most recently, Dr. Gill was CEO of moksha8, a leading Latin American pharmaceutical company focused on central nervous system disorders. moksha8 was founded while Dr. Gill was a partner and entrepreneur in residence at Texas Pacific Group, now TPG Capital, a major private equity investor. While at TPG, Dr. Gill also founded the biosimilar antibody company Epirus (NASDAQ: EPRS). Dr. Gill began his career at Celltech, focused on antibody research. Dr. Gill earned his Ph.D. from King鈥檚 College, London, and his MBA from INSEAD.

鈥淒r. Gill brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from his remarkable career in pharma and biotech and we are pleased to have him join a select group of industry veterans and luminaries leading Flagship鈥檚 portfolio companies,鈥� said Dr. Afeyan.

Joining Dr. Gill, Dr. Afeyan and Dr. Berry on Evelo鈥檚 board of directors is Roger Pomerantz M.D., chairman and CEO of Seres Therapeutics. Prior to joining Seres, Dr. Pomerantz was senior vice president and worldwide head of licensing and acquisitions at Merck & Co. Inc.

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About Evelo Therapeutics

Evelo Therapeutics is dedicated to transforming cancer therapy through a deep understanding of the cancer microbiome. Evelo is discovering and developing Oncobiotic鈩� therapies, novel treatments designed to attack cancer by disrupting the microbial environment which supports tumors and protects them from the body鈥檚 immune system. Evelo鈥檚 platform disrupts the tumor microenvironment at the metabolic and stromal levels and provides next-generation, microbiome-based immunotherapeutics. Founded at Flagship VentureLabs, Evelo is the first microbiome company focused on cancer. For more information, please visit .

About Flagship Ventures

Realizing entrepreneurial innovation is the mission of Flagship Ventures. Founded in 2000, the firm has launched more than 35 first-in-class companies while investing in another 55. Flagship manages over $1.4 billion in capital and is active in three principal sectors: therapeutics, health technologies, and sustainability. Flagship鈥檚 current portfolio includes Acceleron (NASDAQ: XLRN), Agios (NASDAQ: AGIO), Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MCRB), T2 Biosystems (NASDAQ: TTOO), as well as several private companies: Editas Medicine, Moderna Therapeutics and Syros Pharmaceuticals. For more information, please visit www.flagshipventures.com.

About Flagship VentureLabs庐

Flagship VentureLabs is the innovation foundry of Flagship Ventures. VentureLabs has been creating breakthrough companies since 2000. It is the first institution dedicated to entrepreneurial innovation, where discovery, invention and entrepreneuring are performed simultaneously by a world-class team of scientists, innovators and professional entrepreneurs. VentureLabs innovates, invents, launches and builds startups through a unique, systematic approach that produces best-in-class companies based on in-house innovations. VentureLabs has started 35 life science and technology companies, including Joule Unlimited, Seres Therapeutics, Pronutria Biosciences, Symbiota and Moderna Therapeutics. For more information, please visit www.flagshipventures.com/venturelabs.