David Darst, MBA

David Darst is a Growth Partner with Flagship Pioneering. David is a board member and co-responsible partner for multiple growth stage portfolio companies.  He supports their organizational development, long-term strategy, financing, and business development efforts to generate the greatest value creation and impact for those companies.

Prior to joining Flagship, David was the COO/ CFO of a cancer focused biotechnology company he co-founded, where he led financing, business and corporate development, and drug development efforts.  He was previously the lead life sciences advisor to a large international pension fund, and prior to that was a venture capital investor at OrbiMed Advisors. David was also a co-founder, EVP, and Director of Potentia Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by its spin-out company Apellis Pharmaceuticals (ticker: APLS).

David earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA, cum laude, from Harvard College. 

Cecilia Jones, MBA

Cecilia Jones is the Chief Financial Officer of Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Agios) and a member of the company’s Leadership Team. She joined Agios in September 2022 and leads all aspects of the company’s financial strategy and operations, including corporate finance, accounting, investor relations, and corporate communications. Ms. Jones plays a key role in shaping Agios’ overall business direction and long-term growth plans in support of its vision to redefine the future of rare disease treatment.

Before joining Agios, Ms. Jones served as Chief Financial Officer at LogicBio, where she again led the company’s financial strategy and execution, guiding financing initiatives and evaluating opportunities to support growth and innovation.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Jones spent more than a decade at Biogen in senior finance leadership roles, most recently as Vice President of Research and Development, Worldwide Medical, and Business Development Finance. She also held finance positions of increasing responsibility at Genzyme, where she gained extensive international experience.

Ms. Jones is on the Board of Latinos in Bio, a position she has held since the group’s inception. The organization is dedicated to advancing the representation and success of Latino professionals across the life sciences industry, fostering community, visibility, and opportunity. She is also the co-Leadership Team sponsor of Agios’ Diversity Council, which advocates for an inclusive workplace and ensures accountability for initiatives that promote an environment where all employees can thrive.

She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics (Licenciatura en Economía) from Universidad de San Andrés in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School.

Saurabh Saha, MD, PhD

Dr. Saurabh Saha is Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Centessa Pharmaceuticals. Most recently, as Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Saurabh led translational medicine across all therapeutic areas spanning discovery, early development through late development, and commercialization. In 2019, he led the Research and Development diligence in the acquisition of Celgene by BMS and subsequently managed key aspects of the integration across both organizations. During his tenure, Saurabh laid the foundation for the BMS Research and Development headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA serving as site head and establishing a research focus on discovering new cancer treatments for immunotherapy resistance.

Previously, Saurabh was a venture partner at Atlas Venture where he held leadership positions with several portfolio biotech companies, including Chief Medical Officer of Synlogic and Chief Executive Officer of Delinia until its sale to Celgene in early 2017.

In 2008, he established the translational research and development organization at BioMed Valley Discoveries, where he served as Chief Scientific Officer and later President and was responsible for leading the development and demonstrating human effectiveness of two first-in-class cancer therapies.

Earlier in his career, Saurabh was a management consultant in the pharmaceutical practice at McKinsey & Company and subsequently was appointed Director and Head of the New Indications Discovery Unit at Novartis. He is on the editorial boards of several medical journals and is an Associate Member and Global Clinical scholar at Harvard Medical School. Saurabh currently serves on the board of directors of Scorpion Therapeutics, Clarivate (NYSE: CLVT) and Johns Hopkins Medicine, a global health system and academic institution that includes the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and its health system.

Saurabh holds an MD and a PhD in cancer genetics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he completed his graduate work in Bert Vogelstein’s laboratory. He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and Oxford University, where he studied general management and biophysics, respectively. Saurabh graduated in 2.5 years with a BSc in biochemistry from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and patents (issued and pending) over the course of his career. Previously, he was selected by the President’s Commission as a finalist for the White House Fellowship, the nation’s most prestigious program for leadership and public service.