Speaker Profile
Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Vir Biotechnology
Biography
Since joining Vir Biotechnology in April 2023, Dr. Marianne De Backer has led the company through a critical strategy evolution sharpening its focus in infectious disease and applying its scientific expertise to critical unmet needs in oncology. Under Dr. De Backer’s leadership, Vir Biotechnology has built a robust clinical pipeline including a late-stage registrational program in hepatitis delta, three Phase 1 masked T-cell engagers tackling a range of solid tumors, and a preclinical pipeline of cancer immunotherapies.
Over the course of her career, which began in drug discovery research, Dr. De Backer has been listed as an inventor on seven patents, led the commercial launch of two medicines, and spearheaded more than 250 alliances and acquisitions, several of which resulted in launched medicines. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization and as a non-executive director on the board of directors of the Gladstone Foundation.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2027 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
Razelle Kurzrock, Emory
PMWC Award Ceremony
• Antoni Ribas, UCLA Health (Luminary)
Featured Speakers
• Antoni Ribas, UCLA Health
• Gerold Meinhardt, Daiichi Sankyo
• Katy Rezvani, MD Anderson
• Javad Shahidi, BeOne
• Alicia Zhou, Cancer Research Institute
• Oren Gilad, Aprea Therapeutics
• Adam Palmer, UNC
• Trever Bivona, UCSF
• Laura Volta, Penn Medicine
• Vivek Subbiah, Stanford
• Mark Stewart, Friends of Cancer Research
Precision Immunotherapy After PD-1
Cells, bispecifics, ADCs, and new combination logic after checkpoint failure.
Biomarkers That Matter
Selecting patients for immunotherapy and targeted therapy with decision-grade biomarkers.
Resistance Biology & Adaptive Combination Strategies
How tumors adapt, and how to sequence therapy around that biology.
Which Immune Cells Can Be Programmed In Vivo?
The next wave of immune-cell engineering and where it may matter first.
Rare Cancers, Basket Trials & N-of-1 Playbooks
Moving from histology-agnostic evidence to individualized precision oncology.
Davos of Precision Medicine
PMWC 2027 Program
January 27–29, 2027 · Santa Clara Convention Center
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In a few words.
PMWC is indeed The Davos of Biotech
PMWC Hall of Impact
Previous Speakers Include
Nobel laureates, technology founders, regulators, CEOs and scientific pioneers who have taken the PMWC stage.
