Former Biogen CEO tapped as biotech industry's coronavirus czar

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The biotechnology industry now officially has a coronavirus czar—and he’s a longtime veteran of the drug sector.

The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), the industry’s largest trade group, has reportedly tapped George Scangos for the role. Scangos served as the CEO of drug giant Biogen for six years and is currently chief executive at Vir, a San Francisco startup that’s working on a coronavirus treatment of its own.

The details about Scangos’ exact responsibilities remain a bit fuzzy. “The role is still evolving but it is clear someone needs to pick up the reins. It is only natural for us here at Vir to take on a leadership role,” Scangos told the New York Times.

But given BIO’s decision to tap a startup CEO (with a history at much larger drug makers), it seems likely that Scangos will help smaller firms navigate tricky regulatory waters as they attempt to fight the coronavirus threat.

That may include helping facilitate partnerships between startups and the bigger firms that have more advanced manufacturing capacities or advising BIO member companies on how to deal with regulatory agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

To date, a slew of firms ranging from Gilead to Moderna to Vir have announced they’re working on coronavirus treatments or vaccines. Gilead’s experimental therapy remdesivir has received the most public praise from health officials and is speeding through the clinical trial process.

Read on for the day’s news.

Sy Mukherjee
sayak.mukherjee@fortune.com
@the_sy_guy

DIGITAL HEALTH

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INDICATIONS

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THE BIG PICTURE

A twist in South Korea's mounting coronavirus woes. South Korea, the nation with the most number of reported coronavirus cases outside of China, is seeking murder charges against leaders of a church who they say stymied preventive efforts that could have led to fewer deaths from the pathogen. The church's leader, Lee Man-hee, said the organization tried its best to stop the infection's spread but was unsuccessful. (Reuters)

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