Vir Biotechnology announces strategic imperatives, to cut 75 positions

Vir Biotechnology announced strategic imperatives to focus its capital allocation on programs with the highest potential for patient impact and value creation. These are designed to optimize the Company’s cost structure by reducing the size of its workforce and the number of sites it operates. “After a thorough review and with a strong focus on our mission, we are making purpose-led changes to align Vir with our goals to deliver sustainable growth and ensure we are well-positioned for the future,” said Marianne De Backer, M.Sc., Ph.D., MBA, Vir’s Chief Executive Officer. “We have taken great care to ensure we are supporting those individuals who are impacted by these changes, and we appreciate the contributions they have made to the Company. While these decisions are difficult, they will enable us to prioritize investment in the clinical execution of our chronic hepatitis delta and chronic hepatitis B programs, as well as on broadening the long-term applicability of our world-class monoclonal antibody platform beyond infectious diseases to autoimmune diseases and oncology.” Vir is taking the following strategic steps to reduce its operating expenses: R&D facilities in St. Louis, Missouri and Portland, Oregon will be closed in 2024. Research activities will continue at the Company’s sites in San Francisco, California and Bellinzona, Switzerland. Approximately 12% or 75 positions will be eliminated, which includes reductions from the Company’s discontinuation of its innate immunity small molecule group which was initiated in the third quarter of 2023. The reductions will be substantially complete by the first quarter of 2024. Vir expects to incur charges between $30 million to $40 million, primarily related to facility closures and to a lesser extent, employee severance costs. Of the total charges, approximately $3 million to $4 million will be cash expenditures. The Company expects to recognize these expenses through the third quarter of 2024. Vir expects to reduce its cost structure by at least $40 million annually. The Company reported $1.7 billion in cash, cash equivalents and investments in the third quarter of 2023.