Jay Parrish

Biography

 Jay Parrish, Ph.D., is senior vice president of Corporate Development at VIR. Previously he worked at Gilead Sciences, Inc. on the Corporate Development team, where he was involved in building Gilead’s oncology and infectious disease portfolio, ultimately leading infectious disease business development for the company. In the Corporate Development role, Dr. Parrish gained significant experience with search and evaluation, negotiations and transactions including in-licensing, out-licensing and M&A deals. Previously, he worked in Gilead’s Medicinal Chemistry group where his research focused on the discovery of small molecule anti-virals for the treatment of HIV, hepatitis C, and respiratory syncytial viruses. In this role, he was involved with several successful discovery campaigns, including being a co-inventor of ledipasvir (Harvoni®), approved as a cure for hepatitis C genotypes 1, 4–6. In 2015 Harvoni® had nearly $14 billion in sales worldwide, making it one of the most successful commercial drugs in history. Dr. Parrish holds a B.S. in chemistry from Emory University and a Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry from the University of South Florida. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Scripps Research Institute and received an M.B.A. from U.C. Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. He has authored more than 25 peer-reviewed scientific publications and holds more than 20 issued patents and applications. Dr. Parrish continues to serve as a part-time instructor at U.C. Berkeley Extensions where he teaches chemistry to undergraduates and post-baccalaureates. He continues to serve as a venture partner at ARCH Venture Partners.

Research Interest

 oncology and infectious disease portfolio, ultimately leading infectious disease business development