The Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology announced June 16 that Brian Wamhoff, current public director of the U.Va. Physicians Group and entrepreneur in residence within the U.Va. Licensing and Ventures Group, was named the inaugural chief strategy and business officer for the Manning Institute of Biotechnology. Wamhoff is the third executive member to join the Manning Institute, in addition to Mark Esser, head of the Institute and chief scientific officer, and Chief Operating Officer Mark Weathers.
“Brian Wamhoff brings something rare to the Manning Institute — he has walked every step of the journey from academic discovery to clinical development, and he has done it here at U.Va.,” Esser said in the University’s press release. “[His] experience is invaluable as we build the Manning Institute into a place where great science can become great medicine.”
According to Wamhoff, in his role as CSBO he will be cultivating partners within the medical industry, venture funding, philanthropic organizations and federal agencies to “advance” and “accelerate” the sciences at the University into medicines. Wamhoff explained in an interview with The Cavalier Daily how the University already excels at identifying a target within the drug discovery process, however, it encounters difficulty in developing the discoveries into medicine.
The Manning Institute will open its doors in late 2027 to serve as a transformatory building for scientific discovery turned into medicine. The mission of the Manning Institute is to accelerate the translation between science and clinical impact, while also delivering real hope and treatments faster than ever before. “Patients are waiting,” the Institute’s website reads.
After The Cavalier Daily’s interview with Wamhoff, the state budget cut back $27 million in previously suggested state funding for construction at the Manning Institute. In 2024, lawmakers had budgeted $46 million in Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority funds toward the Manning Institute. According to its website, VIPA funds support research and entrepreneurial innovation “resulting in the creation of new jobs and company formation.”
Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) had further suggested investing $30 million in the project through VIPA this year, but the General Assembly cut the number down to $3 million. In light of the cuts, the Institute will seek alternative sources of funding.
As CSBO, Wamhoff also directs the SPARK drug discovery and development program, which is a branch of the Stanford SPARK Global network that works towards early-stage drug discovery.
Wamhoff explained in the interview that the Manning Institute hopes to alleviate the translational valley of death — a gap between scientific research and the actual application of medicine — to allow for patients to receive the medicine they need.
“The hard part for U.Va. and … truly academia in general, is everything that happens in between, like developing [an] idea into a medicine,” Wamhoff said. “Drugs or potential drugs can end up in [the valley of death], and if it's not done the right way … [the drug will] never see a patient, and that's what the Manning [Institute] is all about.”
Leading up to the CSBO role, Wamhoff began at the University as a postdoctoral fellow with the American Physiological Society, where he was then offered a position as faculty to the Department of Medicine in Cardiology and Biomedical Engineering. Throughout his time in faculty, Wamhoff also developed intellectual property that led to the creation of startups and biotech companies. He was offered tenure by the University, but he declined in order to go “all in” on his biotech startups.
“During that time, everything I learned in academia, [including] how to run a great research program and really sharpen those skills and raise grant funding — a lot of that transition translated into running a biotech,” Wamhoff said.
Wamhoff explained how his experience in biotech startups refined his skill in raising money from venture capitalists and grants from the federal government. Wamhoff said he dedicated his time in the biotech industry to learning about drug discovery and drug development. He said the unique exposure to academia early on in his career had shaped him for the role of CSBO at the Manning Institute.
“This unique skill set that I had [from academia and my startup experience] … helped shape this [CSBO] role,” Wamhoff said. “When you think about that, when you put all [of my experiences] together, my goals for U.Va. and the Manning Institute, they are shared goals, they’re very personal to me and they’re very personal to everyone on our team.”
Wamhoff said that the Institute hopes to dose its first patient in the clinic by 2030. He attributed the possibility of this goal to Esser and his success working on Operation Warp Speed — a federal effort to speed up the COVID-19 vaccine’s development — during his time as vice president for Research and Development at AstraZeneca.
Isabela Delgado is a staff writer on the news desk who enjoys writing longer form pieces. Most of her work is focused on U.Va. Health and the Honor Committee, although she enjoys writing all types of articles for the paper. Outside of writing, Isabela is also a part of the Photo desk. Isabela is from New Jersey and currently plans to major in Government.
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