SAN FRANCISCO– Vir Biotechnology Inc. (Nasdaq: VIR) today announced that Jason O’Byrne, MBA, is appointed as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective October 2, 2024. Mr. O’Byrne will join the Vir Executive Management Team and report directly to the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Marianne De Backer, M.Sc., Ph.D., MBA.
Mr. O’Byrne is an accomplished executive with more than 20 years of experience in finance and operations. He is a recognized champion of financial discipline and brings demonstrated financial leadership in capital allocation and formation, corporate strategy, and operational execution.
Mr. O’Byrne joins Vir from Caribou Biosciences, Inc., where he served as CFO leading the finance, investor relations, corporate communications, IT, procurement and operations functions as the company advanced its pipeline of clinical-stage cell therapies in oncology and autoimmune disease. Prior to joining Caribou, Mr. O’Byrne served as Senior Vice President of Finance at Audentes Therapeutics, where he led financial operations of the gene therapy company. While at Audentes, Mr. O’Byrne oversaw the financial due diligence and integration related to the company’s acquisition by Astellas Pharma in 2020.
Earlier in his career, Mr. O’Byrne held roles of increasing responsibility and geographical reach at Genentech, a member of the Roche group. Over a 13-year period with Genentech, he built broad operational finance expertise across manufacturing, research, clinical development, business development and commercialization. During his tenure, he served as Regional Head of Commercial Finance for the Asia Pacific Region, and Global Head of Finance for Product Development. Mr. O’Byrne holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia, and an MBA in Finance from the New York University Stern School of Business.
“I am delighted to welcome Jason to the Vir Executive Management Team and excited about the impact he will bring to Vir. Jason’s exceptional leadership coupled with his proven track record in financial strategy across public companies, make him the perfect fit as we embark on the next chapter for our organization,” said Marianne De Backer, Chief Executive Officer, Vir Biotechnology. “As a seasoned and well-respected cross-functional leader with a focus on excellence in execution, I look forward to partnering with Jason as we advance in our mission of powering the immune system to transform lives.”
“I am honored to join Vir at this important time as it expands into oncology and continues the innovative work to address unmet patient need in infectious disease,” said Mr. O’Byrne. “I admire Vir’s proven ability to accelerate differentiated antibody therapeutics. I am excited to join the talented team and contribute to rapidly advancing important new therapeutic options for patients.”
