BioCryst Names Charlie Gayer as New CEO Following Jon Stonehouse's Retirement Announcement
Key Insights
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announced that CEO Jon Stonehouse will retire on December 31, 2025, with current Chief Commercial Officer Charlie Gayer set to succeed him as president in August and CEO in January 2026.
Gayer led the successful commercial launch of ORLADEYO (berotralstat), the first oral prophylactic therapy for hereditary angioedema (search), driving exceptional revenue growth with expected peak sales of $1 billion.
The leadership transition comes as BioCryst has matured into a profitable company generating increasing cash resources through ORLADEYO revenue while advancing a promising pipeline of rare disease therapies.
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announced a planned leadership transition as current President and CEO Jon Stonehouse informed the board of directors of his intention to retire on December 31, 2025. The board has appointed Charlie Gayer, currently the company's chief commercial officer, as the next president effective August 1, 2025, and chief executive officer effective January 1, 2026.
The succession plan recognizes Gayer's instrumental role in building BioCryst's commercial success, particularly through his leadership of ORLADEYO (berotralstat), the first oral prophylactic therapy for hereditary angioedema (search). Under his commercial leadership, the drug has achieved exceptional revenue growth with expected peak sales of $1 billion, representing what Stonehouse described as "one of the best commercial launches of a rare disease drug in recent history."
Commercial Success and Strategic Leadership
Gayer has built and led the commercial organization responsible for ORLADEYO's successful market entry, bringing the first oral prophylactic therapy to patients with hereditary angioedema (search). Beyond commercial execution, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the company's recent business development strategy, including the planned sale of its European operations.
"Charlie has a proven track record of delivering results and is largely responsible for one of the best commercial launches of a rare disease drug in recent history," said Stonehouse. "Charlie is a purpose-driven leader who understands our company's mission to serve patients living with rare diseases in extraordinary ways."
Nancy Hutson, chair of the board, emphasized the thorough succession planning process that led to Gayer's selection. "As part of our succession planning process, we have evaluated outstanding internal and external potential successors and Charlie stood out in that process, with an ability to build on the success he has achieved with ORLADEYO to further deliver on our mission to bring life-changing therapies to patients and create long-term value for our stakeholders."
Company Transformation and Financial Performance
Under Stonehouse's leadership, BioCryst has transformed into a commercial, profitable company with significant growth prospects. The company now generates substantially increasing cash resources through ORLADEYO revenue while simultaneously advancing a promising pipeline of rare disease therapies.
"Under his guidance, BioCryst has matured to the point where it is generating significantly increasing cash resources through ORLADEYO revenue while also advancing a promising pipeline," Gayer noted. "This is an exciting time for the company and I am deeply honored that the board has entrusted me to lead BioCryst into its next chapter."
Leadership Background and Experience
Gayer was promoted to chief commercial officer in January 2020 after joining BioCryst in 2015 as vice president of global strategic marketing. His extensive rare disease commercial experience includes U.S. and global commercial leadership roles at Talecris Biotherapeutics (search), where he led U.S. alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (search) marketing and later European sales and marketing.
Following Grifols' acquisition of Talecris in 2011, Gayer led the U.S. marketing team for the combined immune globulin portfolio. His pharmaceutical industry experience also includes six years at GlaxoSmithKline in professional marketing, consumer marketing, and sales roles, as well as strategic consulting for biopharmaceutical companies and business analysis at Genzyme Corporation.
Transition Timeline and Board Changes
The leadership transition will occur in phases, with Gayer assuming the president role on August 1, 2025, and the CEO position on January 1, 2026. Stonehouse will continue to serve on the board of directors, while Gayer will join the company's board effective January 1, 2026.
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals is a global biotechnology company focused on improving lives of people with hereditary angioedema (search) and other rare diseases. The company leverages structure-guided drug design expertise to develop first-in-class or best-in-class oral small-molecule and protein therapeutics targeting difficult-to-treat diseases.