https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2023/11/08/arbutus-william-collier-retire-layoffs-hepatitis-b.html
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A Bucks County biopharmaceutical firm pursuing a cure for hepatitis B is now also searching for a new chief executive.
William Collier is retiring as president and CEO of Warminster-based Arbutus Biopharma effective Dec. 31. Michael J. McElhaugh, the company’s co-founder and chief operating officer, will take over as interim CEO on Jan. 1. He will also join the Arbutus board of directors at that time.
Arbutus (NASDAQ: ABUS) also said earlier this week it has reduced its workforce by 24%, or about two dozen employees, in connection with the company's decision announced in September to narrow its research focus to chronic hepatitis B infections — ending its work in the Covid-19 virus arena — to extend its cash runway.
Since the start of 2022, according to a Business Journal analysis, Philadelphia-area life sciences have laid off more than 540 employees citing an uncertain economy that has driven investors away from the high-risk, high-reward biopharmaceutical sector in favor of safer investments.
Arbutus reported this week it has cash and cash equivalents of $17.5 million, which it said is sufficient to fund operations into early 2026.
The company, which has about 75 employees following the layoffs, is embroiled in litigation with both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech — with Arbutus alleging those companies violated patents held by Arbutus and its affiliate company Genevant Sciences when developing their Covid-19 vaccines.
Collier, a former executive at GSK and Viiv Healthcare, has served as the chief executive of Arbutus since June 2019.
Arbutus Chairman Dr. Frank Torti noted that during Collier’s tenure as CEO the company achieved “many important milestones,” including advancing its lead hepatitis B virus asset, imdusiran, which is in mid-stage clinical testing as part of a combination therapy for the serious liver infection.
Hepatitis B infects an estimated 2.4 million people in the United States, according to the Doylestown-based Hepatitis B Foundation. The World Health Organization estimates more than 290 million people worldwide suffer from chronic hepatitis B infections, which leads to a higher risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer.
“Leading Arbutus and working with such a passionate, dedicated leadership team to develop a functional cure for patients with chronic hepatitis B virus has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional career,” Collier said in a statement provided by the company.
Collier said McElhaugh’s “leadership and industry knowledge” make him the right choice to take the reins.
Arbutus was formed in 2015 through the merger of OnCore Biopharma of Doylestown and Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. of Canada.
McElhaugh was a co-founder of OnCore, which launched in 2012, and has been COO of Arbutus since 2018. Prior to OnCore, McElhaugh was the director for hepatitis C worldwide commercialization at Bristol-Myers Squibb and director of business development and market analytics at Pharmasset. He remained in that role following the company’s acquisition by Gilead Sciences.
Arbutus chief scientific officer Dr. Michael Sofia led the team at Pharmasset that developed Sovaldi, a dr-g now used as part of a combination therapy to cure hepatitis C. Pharmasset was acquired by Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) for $11.5 billion in early 2012.
Earlier in his career, McElhaugh held various positions at Viropharma in Malvern and at North Jersey-based Merck and Co.