Chris Varma

Chris joined Flagship in 2007 as Partner and focuses primarily on Life Science investments. He came to Flagship with significant management experience in clinical development, regulatory strategy, business development, sales, and marketing in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to Flagship, Chris was with Novartis Pharmaceuticals since 2004 where he served most recently as Director of the Tekturna (aliskiren) marketing team responsible for all Medical Marketing, Medical Strategy, and Professional Promotions activities in the U.S. Chris also oversaw Tekturna�s extensive clinical development programs, and played a key role in the FDA approval, CMS reimbursement coverage approval, and successful commercial launch of Tekturna in early 2007. Previously at Novartis, Chris was Director of Business Development & Licensing where he identified several in-licensing opportunities and drove key transactions. Prior to that, Chris focused on corporate strategy working directly with the Novartis Pharma CEO in Basel, Switzerland. Before Novartis, Chris was a consultant for Millennium Pharmaceuticals working on special projects in the Personalized Medicine Group. Before Millennium, Chris worked for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the Office of Combination Products coordinating and managing reviews across the major Centers. Early in his career he co-founded Epitrope Corporation, a company that developed server-side solutions for wireless telecom carriers.