BioCryst Announces The Appointment Of Charlie Gayer To Take Over As Chief Executive Officer Following Jon Stonehouse’s Retirement In December

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that its President and Chief Executive Officer, Jon Stonehouse, plans to retire on December 31, 2025. In preparation for this leadership transition, the company’s board of directors has appointed Charlie Gayer, currently serving as Chief Commercial Officer, to succeed Stonehouse. Gayer will take over as President on August 1, 2025, and assume the role of Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2026. Upon retirement, Mr. Stonehouse will remain on the company’s board, and Mr. Gayer will also join the board starting January 1, 2026.

Charlie Gayer has been a key figure in BioCryst’s recent growth, having led the commercial team that successfully launched ORLADEYO® (berotralstat), the first oral prophylactic therapy for hereditary angioedema. His leadership helped establish ORLADEYO as a strong market presence, with peak sales expected to reach $1 billion. Gayer has also played a central role in shaping BioCryst’s business development strategies, including the decision to divest its European operations.

Nancy Hutson, Chair of the Board, stated, “We want to thank Jon for building BioCryst into the commercial, profitable company it is today, with such a bright future. 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.”

Jon Stonehouse mentioned, “I am delighted to hand the leadership responsibility of the company to Charlie. He 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. Charlie is a purpose-driven leader who understands our company’s mission to serve patients living with rare diseases in extraordinary ways. I am thrilled the board chose Charlie, as he understands we have worked hard to build a special culture at BioCryst that we believe has a direct impact on the company’s performance in creating value. He is the perfect leader to take the company even further.”

Charlie Gayer also added, “I am grateful for Jon's leadership and the patients-first culture he has fostered over my 10 years at BioCryst. 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. 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.” 

He joined BioCryst in 2015 as Vice President of Global Strategic Marketing and was promoted to Chief Commercial Officer in January 2020. Before joining the company, he held leadership roles in rare disease marketing at Talecris Biotherapeutics, Inc., focusing on alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency in the U.S. and managing European sales and marketing. After Talecris was acquired by Grifols, S.A., Gayer went on to lead the U.S. marketing team for the combined immune globulin product portfolio.

Earlier in his career, Gayer spent six years at GlaxoSmithKline in various marketing and sales roles. He began his professional journey as a strategic consultant for biopharmaceutical companies and served as a business analyst at Genzyme Corporation for three years. He holds a B.A. in Politics from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.