BioNTech is losing its chief strategy officer, with Ryan Richardson set to leave the company at the end of September to "pursue new professional opportunities."
Richardson joined BioNTech in 2018 and became chief strategy officer at the start of 2020. Across his time at the company, Richardson played a role in its $325 million series B round, 2019 IPO and subsequent private placement and follow-on financings. BioNTech raised more than $1 billion across the financings as the company’s COVID-19 vaccine added to existing excitement about its mRNA technology.
BioNTech credited Richardson with building global strategy and corporate development functions that supported its expansion and execution of collaborations and acquisitions. The company has made some savvy deals, securing a stake in a PD-L1xVEGF bispecific antibody before the gold rush began and flipping a share of the candidate to Bristol Myers Squibb for a quick profit.
Richardson’s departure comes amid BioNTech’s biggest deal yet, its $1.2 billion acquisition of CureVac, and questions about the Trump administration’s approach to the mRNA technology that defined the company’s rise. While BioNTech has expanded beyond mRNA, the company’s revenues are reliant on the COVID-19 vaccine and the modality is still a part of the pipeline.
Richardson is leaving to pursue undisclosed new professional opportunities, according to the release. Before joining BioNTech, Richardson worked as an executive director in the global healthcare investment banking team at J.P. Morgan.
With Richardson sticking around until the end of September, BioNTech is now working to transition his responsibilities to other members of the management board.
When asked if it plans to hire a replacement for Richardson, BioNTech repeated the information in its press release about transitioning responsibilities.