BioCryst Appoints Sandeep M. Menon Chief Research and Development Officer
— Experienced R&D leader with a track record of advancing innovative therapies from early development to global approval —
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., April 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (Nasdaq: BCRX) today announced the appointment of Sandeep M. Menon, MD, PhD, as Chief Research and Development Officer. Building on the commercial success of ORLADEYO® and the recent acquisition of Astria Therapeutics and the navenibart program, BioCryst is entering a new phase of execution in its strategy to build value through development and commercialization of rare disease therapies.
Dr. Menon joins BioCryst from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, where he served as Chief Development Officer, overseeing global clinical development and safety across a broad portfolio spanning multiple therapeutic areas. Under his leadership, his team read out and secured FDA approval of AMVUTTRA® (vutrisiran), a novel RNAi therapeutic for ATTR cardiomyopathy, and advanced multiple programs through key clinical milestones.
“As BioCryst enters a critical phase, our priority is disciplined drug development and flawless regulatory delivery for innovative therapies that can change patients’ lives. Sandeep brings a proven record of leading complex programs through approval, scaling global R&D organizations, and making tough, value-driven decisions,” said Charlie Gayer, President and Chief Executive Officer of BioCryst. “With navenibart advancing toward a potential BLA and a growing pipeline behind it, his leadership strengthens our ability to sharpen our R&D strategy, balance capital allocation and risk, and create durable long-term value through repeated rare disease launches.”
Previously, Dr. Menon spent over a decade at Pfizer in senior R&D leadership roles, most recently as Senior Vice President, Head of Early Clinical Development and Chief Scientific Officer, BioMedicine AI and Digital Sciences. He led large, global development organizations and played a key role in improving R&D success rates across the portfolio. He co-led the clinical development of PAXLOVID™, which progressed from first-in-human dosing to emergency use authorization in nine months, and contributed to the development and approval of multiple therapies across oncology, immunology and rare disease.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Menon held clinical development and biostatistics leadership roles at Biogen Idec and Aptiv Solutions (ICON).
“BioCryst is at a critical inflection point in its history and I am excited to join as the company enters its next stage of growth,” said Dr. Sandeep Menon, Chief Research and Development Officer of BioCryst. “BioCryst has built a growing rare disease business with strong commercial momentum, a differentiated portfolio, and a clear path to expand it. I look forward to working alongside the team to advance our development programs and deliver medicines that can transform patients’ lives.”
Dr. Menon holds a PhD in Biostatistics and an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Boston University, an MS in Translational Pharmacology from The Ohio State University, and a medical degree from Karnataka University in India.
About BioCryst Pharmaceuticals
BioCryst is a global biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for hereditary angioedema (“HAE”) and other rare diseases, driven by its deep commitment to improving the lives of people living with these conditions. BioCryst has commercialized ORLADEYO® (berotralstat), the first oral, once-daily plasma kallikrein inhibitor, and is advancing a pipeline of potential first-in-class or best-in-class oral small-molecule and injectable protein therapeutics for a range of rare diseases. For more information, please visit or follow us on LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding future results, performance, achievements, plans and expectations regarding BioCryst’s growth, strategy, value creation, capital allocation, and pipeline, including with respect to the navenibart program and anticipated development and commercialization of future rare disease therapies. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause BioCryst’s actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could affect the forward-looking statements contained herein include: BioCryst’s ability to implement its commercialization plans and successfully commercialize its products and product candidates; BioCryst’s ability to successfully progress its pipeline development plans; the commercial viability of BioCryst’s future rare disease therapies; ongoing and future preclinical and clinical development of product candidates may take longer than expected and may not have positive results; the outcome of preclinical testing and early clinical trials may not be predictive of the success of later clinical trials, and interim results of a clinical trial do not necessarily predict final results; the FDA or other applicable regulatory agency may require additional studies beyond the studies planned for products and product candidates, may not provide regulatory clearances which may result in delay of planned clinical trials, may not review regulatory filings on our expected timeline, may impose certain restrictions, warnings, or other requirements on products and product candidates, may impose a clinical hold with respect to product candidates, or may withhold, delay or withdraw market approval for products and product candidates; product candidates, if approved, may not achieve market acceptance; BioCryst’s ability to successfully manage its growth and compete effectively; statements regarding financial goals and the attainment of such goals may differ from actual results based on market factors and BioCryst’s ability to execute its operational and budget plans; and actual financial results may not be consistent with expectations, including that revenue, operating expenses and cash usage may not be within management’s expected ranges. This list is not exclusive. To see a more comprehensive list of risks, please refer to the documents BioCryst files periodically with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically BioCryst’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K, which identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in BioCryst’s projections and forward-looking statements.
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