SAN FRANCISCO, May 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIR) today announced the appointment of Jeff Calcagno, M.D., as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer. Dr. Calcagno will be responsible for leading the Company’s business development efforts, optimizing existing alliances and establishing new strategic industry and public-private partnerships. He reports to Vir’s Chief Executive Officer Marianne De Backer, M.Sc., Ph.D., MBA, and joins Vir’s executive management team.
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with Jeff again. He brings decades of international healthcare leadership experience to Vir, as well as a track record of accelerating innovative therapeutics designed to ensure better patient care,” said Dr. De Backer. “His business acumen and scientific grounding as a practicing physician will be critical to this role as we work to expand the impact and influence of Vir.”
Dr. Calcagno joins Vir from Johnson & Johnson (J&J), where he spent more than 12 years holding leadership roles of increasing responsibility within all three divisions of J&J Innovation (JJI), including as Global Transactions Lead for Infectious Diseases & Vaccines and as Head of JLABS Bay Area. He was also instrumental in establishing JJI’s Western North America Innovation Center. Prior to J&J, Dr. Calcagno served as a Principal and Kauffman Fellow at Scale Venture Partners; Chief Business Officer and Chief Financial Officer at a venture-backed therapeutics company; a research analyst at Hambrecht & Quist; and a management consultant at McKinsey & Company.
“I am excited to join a company with such a strong mission and to be working with Marianne again as she leads Vir in its next phase of scientific and commercial growth,” said Dr. Calcagno. “I have evaluated hundreds of life sciences companies throughout my career, and Vir is a clear stand-out for its innovative science, exceptional leadership and a culture that is forward-looking, inclusive and committed to addressing the unmet needs of patients around the world.”
Dr. Calcagno earned an A.B. in biology from Harvard University and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, where he was a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar. He completed an internship, residency, chief residency and clinical pharmacology fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles, and remains a licensed physician. Throughout his career, he has served on the boards of more than a dozen life sciences companies.
About Vir Biotechnology
Vir Biotechnology is a commercial-stage immunology company focused on combining immunologic insights with cutting-edge technologies to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. Vir has assembled four technology platforms that are designed to stimulate and enhance the immune system by exploiting critical observations of natural immune processes. Its current development pipeline consists of product candidates targeting COVID-19, hepatitis B and D viruses, influenza A and human immunodeficiency virus. Vir routinely posts information that may be important to investors on its website.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “plan,” “potential,” “aim,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “promising” and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Vir’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Vir’s strategy and plans; Vir’s future financial and operating results and its expectations related thereto; and potential of, and expectations for, Vir’s pipeline. Many important factors may cause differences between current expectations and actual results, including unexpected safety or efficacy data or results observed during clinical trials or in data readouts; the timing and outcome of Vir’s planned interactions with regulatory authorities; difficulties in obtaining regulatory approval; uncertainty as to whether the anticipated benefits of Vir’s collaborations with other companies can be achieved; difficulties in collaborating with other companies; challenges in accessing manufacturing capacity; clinical site activation rates or clinical trial enrollment rates that are lower than expected; successful development and/or commercialization of alternative product candidates by Vir’s competitors; changes in expected or existing competition; delays in or disruptions to Vir’s business or clinical trials due to the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical changes or other external factors; and unexpected litigation or other disputes. Drug development and commercialization involve a high degree of risk, and only a small number of research and development programs result in commercialization of a product. Results in early-stage clinical trials may not be indicative of full results or results from later-stage or larger-scale clinical trials and do not ensure regulatory approval. You should not place undue reliance on these statements, or the scientific data presented. Other factors that may cause actual results to differ from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements in this press release are discussed in Vir’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the section titled “Risk Factors” contained therein. Except as required by law, Vir assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in expectations, even as new information becomes available.
Contact: Carly Scaduto Senior Director, Media Relations cscaduto@vir.bio +1-314-368-5189
