General Partner, Flagship Pioneering
Geoffrey von Maltzahn is an inventor, entrepreneur, and co-founder of more than ten first-in-category life science companies. A general partner at Flagship Pioneering, Geoff builds companies that integrate biology and data science to transform human health and environmental sustainability.
Geoff has deep expertise in genome engineering, bioengineering, the microbiome, and nanotechnology. He is listed as an inventor on over 200 patent applications and patents, and has co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed articles. Since joining Flagship in 2009, Geoff has co-founded companies that have, in aggregate, achieved over $10 billion in public and private market capitalization including: Tessera Therapeutics, Generate Biomedicines, Indigo Agriculture, Sana Biotechnology (NASDAQ: SANA), Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MCRB), and Axcella Health (NASDAQ:AXLA).
Geoff co-founded Tessera in 2018 to pioneer Gene Writing, a new category of genome engineering technology that aims to write curative therapeutic messages into the human genome. By breaking the rules that have governed genetic medicine to date, Gene Writing holds the potential to correct genetic defects at the root of thousands of diseases. Geoff served as Tessera’s founding CEO for four years and today serves as board chair and director.
Geoff has received numerous awards and honors, including Bloomberg 50's Ones to Watch; Business Insider’s 30 Biotech Leaders Under 40; and the prestigious Lemelson-MIT Student Prize, awarded to the most innovative students at MIT. Geoff earned his PhD in biomedical engineering and medical physics from MIT under the mentorship of Sangeeta N. Bhatia, MD, PhD; an MS in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego; and an SB in chemical engineering from MIT.