Flagship Pioneering, the bioplatform innovation company, and Harbinger Health, a biotechnology company pioneering the detection of early cancer, announced the appointment of Ajit Singh, Ph.D. as CEO-Partner of Flagship and the new CEO of Harbinger. Dr. Singh, a veteran of the diagnostics industry, will also continue as a Harbinger board member, a role he has held since 2024. Dr. Singh succeeds Stephen Hahn, M.D., who will transition from his role as CEO and remain closely involved with the company as CEO Emeritus and Special Advisor. He will continue to serve on the Harbinger Board of Directors.
Dr. Singh brings extensive expertise in the development and commercialization of advanced diagnostics, most notably from his tenure at Siemens and his leadership at several companies that successfully launched in vitro diagnostics products, primarily in the oncology sector. His appointment comes at a vital time for Harbinger as the company focuses on development of multiple products aimed at transforming early cancer detection based on clear validation of the company’s platform.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I extend our gratitude to Steve for his leadership through Harbinger’s foundational phase during which he, together with the team, established a differentiated and validated platform, charted a clear product development path, and forged pivotal partnerships with leading cancer research institutions,” said Doug Cole, M.D., Co-founder and Board Chair, Harbinger and General Partner at Flagship Pioneering. “Harbinger will undoubtedly continue to benefit from Steve’s guidance as a board member and active advisor to the leadership team.”
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Dr. Cole continued, “Ajit’s profound understanding of the diagnostics industry and demonstrated track record of success leading growth companies will be invaluable to building Harbinger to its full potential and, in his capacity as CEO-Partner, to enhancing our broader Flagship ecosystem.”
Dr. Hahn remarked, “Leading Harbinger Health from a remarkable idea based on breakthrough science to detect cancer at its very inception using a simple blood test to today when we have line of sight to bringing such products to patients has been a profoundly rewarding experience. I am confident in Ajit’s vision and leadership and look forward to continuing my work with the company in my new capacity.”
Dr. Singh shared, “Early cancer detection remains one of the most critical, yet unsolved, challenges in oncology. Harbinger Health has a unique opportunity to solve this through its deep insights into the biology of cancer’s origins paired with advanced sequencing technologies and the transformative power of AI. I am excited to lead the team as we strive to make earlier cancer detection a reality, improving outcomes for millions.”
Harbinger is developing blood-based tests that use specific proprietary methylation patterns of cell-free ctDNA in blood to detect the presence of cancer. The company has developed a platform that combines unique insights into the biology of cancer’s origin with artificial intelligence and analytical and methodological innovations to create novel diagnostic and screening products in multiple clinical settings and cancer indications. The company recently presented data demonstrating the potential of its assays to detect multiple high-incidence, high-mortality cancers related to obesity and multiple platform innovations and analytical methodologies to enhance cancer signal detection and improve performance.
Source: Harbinger Health