About Us

Absolute Integrity is a critical guidepost for us as we embark on the tremendous task of building a great company. We are trying to do two incredibly difficult things at the same time – create breakthrough drugs in a brand new space and build a unique company. Vital to both goals is a culture in which we treat everything we do and everyone with whom we interact with absolute integrity.

We are deeply committed to developing treatments that will change patients’ lives and we can’t do that with anything less than absolute integrity. We must approach this mammoth task ethically, morally and in keeping with the “do no harm” dictum from the Hippocratic oath, which requires not just integrity, but integrity that is unflinching and unwavering – absolute.

We know that creating an environment that encourages creativity and collaboration is essential to building a successful company. And the only way to do that is to treat each other with the same absolute integrity we apply to our work. 

In a world where “spin” and misinformation are common and attention spans are short, it is sometimes hard to point to examples of companies with high integrity. The pharma and biotech industries continue to take a beating in the public opinion polls – today some people even think of the industry the same way they think of tobacco companies. There are a lot of reasons for this, but one explanation may be that the public believes the industry has lost its integrity “compass.” At Agios, we aim to hold integrity as critically important no matter the challenges.

That’s why the word “absolute” is so important. While many companies may claim that integrity is a vital element of their culture, at Agios we are committed to walking the walk, not just talking the talk. When we claim to act with integrity, we mean it. Absolutely.

Back in the spring, while golfing with my son, I successfully landed a golf ball on an island green in Ponte Verde, Florida. I was nervous facing that green across all that water, but I knew what I had to do to execute and I made it happen. I’ve been thinking about what it would have been like to take the same shot the way the professionals do, with thousands of spectators lining the fairways, millions watching at home and a huge cash prize on the line. I’m not sure I would have done quite as well. But the pros do it week in and week out. The spectators and cameras disappear. They get in the zone. They focus. They execute. That’s how all the greats do it – and not just golfers or sports heroes, scientists and drug developers too. 

Focused execution is vital if we at Agios hope to achieve our vision.

The idea stage is highly valued – that brainstorming time when ideas are churned out rapid fire and anything seems possible. But those great ideas don’t magically turn into drugs that help patients. Once we make a decision to act at Agios, we have to let go of the fear of failure or the sense that something is just too hard, and have faith that we and our esteemed colleagues can make it happen. That belief and confidence will allow us to approach our goal with a focus that is targeted, precise and flawless.

Focused execution is core to achieving what we call “the other side of possible.” It’s what allows us to set challenging (sometimes frightening) goals and then achieve them despite the odds, distractions and competition. It’s what propels ordinary people into extraordinary realms.

And it’s what turns good companies into great companies. Companies like Agios.

In identifying our core values, we purposefully modified “leadership” with the adjective “incisive.” Leadership alone is vital for any company with goals as ambitious as ours, but that is not enough for Agios. It is incisive leadership that separates the good from the great.

The word “incisive” invokes precision and focus, and it suggests a sense of urgency. As incisive leaders, we recognize that we do not have the luxury of slowly weighing our options, eventually coming to important conclusions and making long-awaited decisions. Of course the other end of the spectrum isn’t an option either – we can’t be rash or jump in without the necessary data. At Agios, our commitment to incisive leadership means identifying decision makers, compiling and analyzing information expeditiously and drawing thoughtful, confident and accurate conclusions. It means collecting all the necessary input and just the right amount of information to make a decision about which there may be many possible strategic options. Waiting too long to make a decision can be as problematic as not making one at all.

To me, the conductor of a symphony orchestra personifies incisive leadership. The conductor’s years of training and experience are reflected in the multitude of instant decisions he or she makes during a performance, constantly reacting and adjusting to input from the musicians, all of which is designed to elicit the best possible performance.

Importantly, leadership at Agios is not limited to the upper echelon of management –outstanding leadership must be present at all levels. All of us must accept our responsibilities, work continuously to improve our results and empower those around us to act as leaders. I’ve always believed that the best sign of an effective and incisive leader is someone who helps build other leaders and that the most successful organizations foster leadership at every level and in every function. As a leader at Agios, I am working to achieve that vision.

A collaborative spirit is central to achieving our vision of building a company that brings together different scientific disciplines to advance the treatment of cancer. One of the core principles on which Agios was founded was the melding of two previously disparate areas of biology: metabolism and oncology. It has always been my belief that one of our key competitive advantages is the ability to work collaboratively and without any silos.

Continuing to live this value will require constant work and attention as we grow the organization, always making sure that we fight the natural tendency of working in silos. We all must continue to take the initiative to cross the aisle, involve others in the work we are doing and learn about what our colleagues are up to. We will continue to build a respectful environment in which ideas are readily exchanged and can be freely debated.

No team can succeed unless its members can collaborate effectively. I am a big fan of the New England Patriots and Coach Belichick (we both went to Wesleyan and overlapped for one year on the squash team) and I admire what he’s done with the team to foster a collaborative spirit—not a simple task when his superstar, future Hall of Fame quarterback commands so much attention. But under his guidance, the Patriots have become collaborators, not competitors; teammates, not prima donnas working to secure their own records. It’s that spirit that has won them games and Super Bowl trophies.

It’s that same spirit that we need to harness if we hope to achieve our quest to discover, develop and deliver groundbreaking new treatments with the potential to positively impact thousands of lives.

This is the final post about our “Foundational Values,” those that comprise the bedrock of our culture here at Agios. In my next post, I will begin discussing the values that differentiate and define us.

Pursuit of excellence and innovation
In a way, I think this value states the obvious – we will always strive to be the best at what we do, and our focus will always be on doing things that no one else has ever done. These are very ambitious goals, but they are what we hold ourselves to and how we want the world to see us. I think the words “excellence” and “innovation” are used much too casually; they are too often referenced in corporate-speak with little regard for what challenging ideals they actually represent. Our active commitment to these values in our day-to-day actions will enable us to achieve our vision.
 
Guided by trust, respect and compassion
These ideals play a role in everything we do; they are the behavioral glue that will keep us together through challenging times and ensure we achieve the best outcomes. They will guide how we work together—internally and externally—and inform all of our decision-making. They will sustain our culture and our focus as we grow.

The five operative words in these values: excellence, innovation, trust, respect and compassion, are the pillars that will support and ensure our long-term success. We cannot create the Agios we want without them.

Discussing values helps us understand how we can put them to work to achieve our vision. But when it really comes down to it, the world will know what we value by what we do, rather than what we say. Our values will speak for themselves, and for us, through the Agios we become.

Musicians are said to have dynamic range if they can vocalize or produce notes across the register from low to high. We are determined to make Agios into a company with a dynamic range that is analogous to that of a virtuoso musician. We won’t be pigeonholed with one idea or program, but will aim to create many products, performing successfully “up and down the scale.”

Dynamic can also mean constantly changing. For Agios to succeed, all of us must expect and embrace change. We have already seen tremendous change, not least of which is illustrated by the company tripling in size in just two years. We are going to be around for a long time and every day will be, and should be, different.

And, of course, dynamic can also mean intense, fast-paced and always on the go. That’s the kind of environment we want to foster here—one in which we declare our positions without hesitation and are decisive in our actions. Speed and dynamic decision-making are two of our biggest competitive advantages.

In any context,  “dynamic” is a powerful and positive attribute, and a value that we can all look forward to putting to work as we build a great company together.

When we developed our differentiating values, why did we insist on “hyperconnected” rather than the simpler “connected?”

For the same reason that we describe our integrity as “absolute” and our execution as “focused”—because we want to be as precise in our description of what we are and what we will become as we are in our science.

Hyperconnected can be a difficult value to illustrate – but a good visual is the brain: the amazing connections between billions and billions of neurons. The term can also be used to describe the huge increases in bandwidth required as we "connect" with each other in the computer networking age in which we live. The hyperconnectedness of the brain and the network is the key to their strength and utility.

We are building Agios with a network of external connections that is on the cutting edge in our industry. As you may know, we currently have more contractors than employees, and these relationships are global in scope, intertwining Cambridge with India and China.

“Hyperconnected” also applies to our relationships with our founders and scientific advisory board. Unlike most biotech companies, we maintain active scientific collaborations with these advisors, considering them vital elements of our company. They are more than “external” resources—they are an integrated element of our hyperconnected structure.

Our hyperconnectedness is not only external, it also describes the way we operate within the company – breaking through artificial organizational barriers and silos and focusing on making the connections that will help us realize our vision.

At Agios we are taking connectivity to a new level and redefining how a biotech company is structured. Our hyperconnectedness is a key to our strength.

Boundless makes me think of disruptive technologies and their capacity to turn fields upside down. People often talk about “coloring outside the lines” but operating with boundless spirit means we have to forget that there even are lines. Our approach to targeting cancer metabolism takes that boundless view – a dramatic departure from a two decade-long focus on transcriptional pathways.
 
Boundless also applies to the kind of work environment we are trying to create. It means that each of us is not just allowed to push the limits, but is encouraged to do so; that we can reach as far as we want and throw out any idea without fear. One of my favorite all-time quotes comes from Robert F. Kennedy when he said: "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." Paradigm-shifting advances emerge out of environments in which people are free to take risks, even if those risks sometimes result in mistakes.

Our culture must support and encourage all of us to approach our jobs without boundaries—to venture as far “out there” as we want to go. To, in fact, “the other side of possible.”

Acting with “passion” means throwing ourselves into ventures with high energy, enthusiasm and commitment. This passion applies whether you’re talking about starting or sustaining a relationship, exploring new ideas, developing novel cancers treatments or trying to win a Grand Slam in tennis. Think of John McEnroe, whose passion for a traditionally staid game—and for winning—propelled him to number one in the world and seven Grand Slam singles titles.

Passion can be a little intimidating (especially if you are a tennis umpire at the wrong end of a McEnroe tantrum), but it’s also something to be admired and something that can reap huge rewards. I think it's fair to say that McEnroe’s fame—which still brings him commercial endorsements even though he retired almost 20 years ago—is due as much to his demonstrative passion as to his many victories.

We can’t be passionate about everything. To be sustained, passion must be focused on a specific target. All of us at Agios are passionate about transforming patients' lives. This is the target of our passion and what motivates and drives us.

This passion will help us embrace the changes we will see as our company grows, and to work through the challenges we will undoubtedly face. We can be a company that positively impacts countless lives, but that will require nurturing, sustaining and rewarding the passion we all share.

Our values of absolute integrity, focused execution, incisive leadership and collaborative spirit combine powerful words. Our next value, respectful irreverence also shares this attribute. I believe we’ve done something unique by linking these two words—and in the process we created a value that aptly describes an important characteristic of our culture.

Albert Einstein conveys one meaning of this value. Einstein was a disruptive thinker, a revolutionary – but he was also someone who didn’t take himself as seriously as he took his science. Our science—and our mission—are serious. But we don’t always have to be.

Like Einstein and many other great scientists, we have to be willing to challenge dogma. We are venturing into an unexplored field of biology. Doing that successfully means taking nothing at face value. We have to respect the science, the data and the scientists who have gone before us, but we must be free to challenge previous assumptions. We successfully challenged the emerging dogma with IDH1—and we will do it again.

Disruptive thinking can come from anyone in our organization. We are each free to speak up, to challenge. And it is our responsibility to do it! Ideally, every meeting, indeed every interaction, will end with every participant feeling heard and respected, and our science advanced. We should feel that our "game" is routinely elevated after an Agios meeting or interaction because of the probing questions that came from our colleagues.

I love this value because it can be interpreted in so many different ways—all appropriate at different times and in different settings.

Certainly, we are operating at the leading edge of our field; indeed, at the edge of science—and that’s what makes working at Agios so exciting.

“Edge” also describes our attitude, our interactions and our groundbreaking science. It connotes the adventure and excitement of our culture—and the risks we are willing, and must, take on behalf of advancing cancer treatment.

For Agios to succeed, we need to continue to nurture a culture in which we challenge each other. We won’t advance the best ideas, and our best science, by being “yes-men and women.” So, it is incumbent for us to interact in ways that ensure we all operate at the top of our game—that means pushing back on ideas or asking questions—always with respect. The result: a corporate culture with an edge. 

Like climbers on the ascent, we will venture fearlessly to the edge—welcoming the risks and thrills that entails—because we know that’s where we must go to reach “the other side of possible.” 

Over the last few months, I’ve been privileged to share my perspective on the values that define Agios. 

I talked about how values, like absolute integrity, focused execution and collaborative spirit form the foundation of our company. I also talked about how being dynamic and having passion, respectful irreverence and edge differentiate us from other companies in our industry.

At the apex of this pyramid of important qualities sits Arete – a Greek word whose many meanings reflects all the values we hold dear. It is a concept you may not have been familiar with before you joined Agios, but one I hope you have already come to cherish as much as I do.

Arete has several meanings, and each is applicable to our company.

It is often used to describe virtue, to characterize someone as a “good person.” Our company comprises good people who are striving to achieve a virtuous goal. Because what could be more virtuous than making a positive impact in the lives of people affected by cancer?

It also connotes a sense of driving for excellence. This interpretation speaks to how far we can push ourselves and reflects our focus on achieving “the other side of possible.” If we truly embody this meaning, I am confident the outcome will be novel drugs that help patients.  

Arete also describes courage and strength in the face of adversity. Adversity is always part of the equation for organizations like ours that are attempting to do something radical and important. What we are undertaking – developing drugs in a novel space while building a new company with staying power – is exceptionally difficult. We will need to call on our reserves of strength to manage it. We will need Arete.

And here’s my favorite meaning of Arete: it’s "living up to ones potential". This applies to each of us as individuals and also collectively as an organization. Many people in the business and scientific communities are looking to Agios to validate the entire space of cancer metabolism as the next wave of important oncology medicines: let’s show them!

Arete, in its many forms, describes why I am so proud to be part of this company and why I believe so strongly that we are uniquely positioned to make a significant difference in the lives of patients.