Assertion certainty 4/5 debate potential 1/5

Afeyan: Flagship started four platform projects alongside Moderna's foundation

Noubar Afeyan · Moderna and Flagship Pioneering: Noubar Afeyan · Oct 11, 2021 · at 43:07

Noubar Afeyan, founder of Flagship Pioneering and co-founder of Moderna, explains their portfolio model to Guy Raz.

0:00 / 0:17exact quote · 17.9s
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“In the exact same year that we Did the foundation laying for what became Moderna. We also started four other projects that were each platforms in their own right, going after different aspects of biomedical opportunity space, each with as big a leap, each with as much doubt”

quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →

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Assertion Not checkable as stated
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Assertion Supported
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