Former FDA chief Hahn joins venture firm that launched Moderna
Hahn joins Flagship, one of the highest-profile creators of biotech companies, as the venture firm is turning its success with Moderna and other startups into new capital.
On Monday, Flagship announced the closing of its seventh fund, which raised a total of $3.4 billion after reopening for new investments in April.
The sum will be sufficient to back between 20 and 25 new companies, around a dozen of which are already being formed, Flagship's CEO Noubar Afeyan told BioPharma Dive in an interview before Hahn's appointment.
The Flagship division Hahn now leads will be supported by some of those new funds. Its focus is on developing interventions that safeguard and improve health before a person becomes sick.
"The more we can embrace a 'what if' approach, the better we can support and protect the health and well-being of people here in the U.S. and around the world," Hahn said in a statement on his appointment.
An oncologist by training, Hahn was appointed FDA commissioner in December 2019 and quickly found himself in the pressure-cooker environment of the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency granted a controversial emergency clearance to the unproven drug hydroxychloroquine after Trump pressed the agency to authorize it based on small, uncontrolled studies. Weeks later, the FDA was forced to revoke it after placebo-controlled trials showed it didn't work to treat COVID-19. Hahn also received considerable criticism following the FDA's decision to clear convalescent plasma despite weak data supporting its use against the disease.
During Hahn's tenure, the agency also authorized and then approved Gilead's coronavirus antiviral Veklury, as well as emergency clearances for vaccines from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, and Moderna — enormously important decisions that put the FDA's review work under a microscope.
News of Hahn's role at Flagship, which holds a 6.1% stake in Moderna, spurred criticism, even from people supportive of the industry. Similar criticism was levied against Gottlieb when he took a directorship at Pfizer.
"I have the highest respect for Flagship and for Dr. Hahn," Brad Loncar, CEO of Loncar Investments and a well-known biotech investor, tweeted Monday, before Flagship confirmed Hahn's appointment. "But I have to keep it real. It would not be a good look for our industry if the person who approved the vaccine went to work for an affiliated company."
Presidential appointees are barred, sometimes permanently, from lobbying the government on issues they worked on while in government. In this role, however, Hahn is not likely to be called on to represent any Flagship-backed companies before the FDA or other regulators.
Hahn's appointment to Flagship comes weeks after another former top FDA official, Amy Abernethy, took a job at Google's health spinoff Verily.
Published June 15, 2021
Jonathan Gardner Senior Reporter Original Published https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/hahn-fda-join-flagship-venture-biotech/601827/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202021-06-15%20BioPharma%20Dive%20%5Bissue:34850%5D&utm_term=BioPharma%20Dive