Vir Biotechnology
January 6, 2017
Vir Biotechnology, Inc. today announced it is launching to develop cures, treatments, and preventions for challenging infectious diseases, with former Biogen CEO George Scangos heading a team of scientific and industry leaders. The company will be headquartered in the San Francisco, California, area and will seek to apply immune programming at an unprecedented scale.
Lead investors include ARCH Venture Partners and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and will be joined by others including sovereign wealth funds, public mutual funds and prominent individuals and family offices. ARCH Venture Partners, whose co-founder Robert Nelsen conceived and led the formation of Vir, has itself committed to invest $150 million.