ARTICLE | Product Development
Vir evolves from antiviral one-stop shop to protein engineering play
Shedding non-protein platforms and bringing in masked bispecifics for cancer, the company’s pivot highlights the challenges of its founding thesis.
August 13, 2024 12:46 AM UTC
The in-licensing and restructuring moves Vir announced at the start of August don’t mark the end of the company’s work on antiviral therapies. But they do signal that the biotech’s founding vision — a one-stop shop taking on infectious diseases through multiple platforms — is a difficult one to sustain, even with two approved products and a major role in a global pandemic.
On Aug. 1, Vir Biotechnology Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) said it licensed exclusive worldwide rights to three masked, cancer-targeted T cell engagers, and exclusive use of a protease-cleavable masking platform, from Sanofi (Euronext:SAN; NASDAQ:SNY) for a $100 million up front, plus milestones and royalties...