about us
“The greatest need we have today in the human cancer problem, except for universal care, is a method for detecting cancer before there are any clinical signs or symptoms.”
Sidney Farber, M.D.
Father of modern chemotherapy
November 1962
pioneering the detection of early cancer
Harbinger Health is pioneering the detection of early cancer and enabling foundationally new approaches to cancer screening, diagnosis and management. Incubated within Flagship Pioneering for three years before launching in 2021, Harbinger combines advances in artificial intelligence with proprietary insights into the biology of the beginnings of cancer to identify cancer before it is visible or symptomatic with the aim of developing a low-cost, multi-cancer blood test.
A harbinger is a “forerunner, that which precedes and gives notice of the coming of another.” We not only are working to identify the harbinger – the biological programs present in the earliest forms of cancer – but seek to be the harbinger, to be the forerunner which will usher in the future of healthcare.
At Harbinger, we intend to lead in shaping this future – creating a proactive paradigm so that people can live cancer-free for longer, adding years to life and life to years. We envision a future where, instead of keeping cancer from spreading, it could be kept from forming, making a cancer diagnosis a routine health problem to be addressed rather than a life-altering event to be feared with profound implications for people, healthcare systems and societies.
Our answer to the problem of late cancer detection and unacceptable patient prognoses starts with our proprietary solutions for the future of cancer pre-emption. Beginning with blood-based tests, we will enable cancer detection before it is visible. By identifying biological programs rooted in cancer's origins, we can enable identification of early stage and pre-disease. Through this new pathway for cancer diagnosis and early therapeutic interventions, Harbinger Health has the potential to fundamentally change cancer care, for everyone.
Michael Nally, M.B.A.
Michael Nally joined Flagship in 2021 and serves as CEO-Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Generate Biomedicines. Mike is an accomplished pharmaceutical executive, with significant experience leading global organizations.
Prior to joining Flagship, Mike spent nearly 18 years at Merck, where he was most recently Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of its Human Health division. In this role, he led the company’s global marketing strategy, commercialization model, and long-term growth strategy across its product portfolio. Mike previously served as President of Merck’s Global Vaccines division where he and his team increased the reach and public health impact of its portfolio of pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines resulting in significant business growth. He also led Merck’s business in Sweden and the UK, and developed innovative, customer-centered approaches that improved business results and accelerated patient access to the company’s medicines and vaccines. Additionally, he held a variety of senior positions at Merck in commercial operations, business development, and investor relations.
Mike holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, a degree in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics, and a B.A. in Economics from Middlebury College.
