Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIR) today announced that Mark D. Eisner, M.D., M.P.H. will join the company as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer (CMO), effective June 03, 2024. Dr. Eisner will be a part of the company’s Executive Management Team and will report directly to Marianne De Backer, M.Sc., Ph.D., MBA, Vir’s Chief Executive Officer.
Mark Eisner MD comes from Sonoma Biotherapeutics, Inc., where he most recently held the position of CMO. In this role, he led all development functions which included biometrics, regulatory, clinical science, clinical operations, drug safety, and pharmacology. Prior to his most recent tenure with Sonoma Biotherapeutics, Dr. Eisner served as CMO at FibroGen where he led all development functions, which included being the Head of China clinical development and clinical operations. Dr. Eisner has also been with Genentech nearly 11 years and served as their Senior Vice President of Global Head of Product Development Immunology, Infectious Disease and Ophthalmology and was accountable for late-stage clinical development of many products including strategy, clinical trials and budget. He brings to Vir deep immunology and infectious disease expertise with clinical development experience. Dr. Eisner has an impressive track record of leading teams during times of strategically evolving portfolios.
“We are delighted to welcome Mark, a seasoned and highly respected scientist, clinician, and leader, to Vir’s Executive Management Team. His exceptional leadership skills with late-stage clinical experience and deep knowledge of immunology and infectious disease will be critical to the next phase of Vir’s growth,” said Dr. De Backer. “In addition to his proven track record of overseeing multiple products across various indications while securing breakthrough therapy designation, Mark’s visionary and enterprise mindset will be of great benefit to Vir as we focus on bringing medicine to patients with unmet medical needs.”
Dr. Eisner completed his A.B. degree in human biology at Stanford University and his M.D. degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He also has an M.P.H. focusing on epidemiology from the University of California Berkeley, School of Public Health. He has an impressive list of publications and patents, honors and awards, and services for professional organizations.
“I am thrilled to be joining Vir at this critical time and am looking forward to working with the talented teams to advance our clinical development programs,” said Dr. Eisner. “I have always admired the bold mission of the company. Patients have always been my guiding compass, so I am excited to have this opportunity to help translate Vir’s groundbreaking science into advances for human health.”