Bayer's Marianne De Backer tasked with replacing George Scangos at Vir

26 January 2023

After a career that has seen him lead Exelixis (Nasdaq: EXEL), Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB) and most recently, Vir Biotechnology (Nasdaq: VIR), George Scangos is to retire in early April.

The US immunology company’s board of directors has appointed another industry veteran, Bayer’s (BAYN: DE) Marianne De Backer, as his successor, with Dr Scangos continuing to serve in an advisory role to her for a couple of months and providing strategic counsel to Vir as a member of the board thereafter.

"Confidence in Vir’s ability to transform the infectious disease landscape"Having been president and chief executive of Vir for six years, Dr Scangos has been credited with helping the company to deliver therapies for Ebola and COVID-19 to millions of patients, building a robust pipeline that currently spans five therapeutic areas, and establishing a strong balance sheet with approximately $2.7 billion in cash and cash equivalents.

This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.

Try before you buy

Free

7 day trial access

Take a Free Trial

All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.

Become a subscriber

£820

Or £77 per month

Subscribe Now

Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription

The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed

Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK