Ultragenyx appoints Eric Olson as chief business officer

NOVATO, Calif. - Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE), a $2.9 billion market cap biopharmaceutical company showing strong revenue growth of 27% over the last twelve months, has appointed Eric Olson as chief business officer and executive vice president, effective September 22, 2025, following the planned retirement of Thomas Kassberg, the rare disease-focused biopharmaceutical company announced Tuesday.

Olson will lead the company’s business development, corporate development and alliance management functions. He brings nearly two decades of biopharma industry experience, having contributed to transactions worth more than $15 billion in aggregate value. According to InvestingPro data, Ultragenyx maintains strong liquidity with a current ratio of 2.45, positioning the company well for future strategic initiatives.

Prior to joining Ultragenyx, Olson served as chief business officer at Stoke Therapeutics, where he led the partnership with Biogen for zorevunersen. He previously held the position of vice president and head of business development at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, where he managed the $2.8 billion co-development collaboration with Roche for zilebesiran and a $2 billion strategic financing with Blackstone.

Earlier in his career, Olson worked at Takeda after its acquisition of Shire plc, and held various roles at Genzyme Corporation. He holds a B.A. in zoology from Connecticut College, an M.S. in cellular and molecular biology from New York University, and an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

"Eric’s expertise leading business development and strategic partnering is ideally suited to support our mission to bring forward new therapies to address rare diseases that have never before been treated," said Emil D. Kakkis, chief executive officer and president of Ultragenyx, in the press release statement.

Ultragenyx is focused on developing treatments for rare and ultra-rare genetic diseases and currently has four commercial therapies on the market. While InvestingPro analysis indicates the company is currently trading below its Fair Value, analysts maintain a strong buy consensus with significant upside potential. For deeper insights into Ultragenyx’s financial health and growth prospects, investors can access the comprehensive Pro Research Report, available exclusively to InvestingPro subscribers.

In other recent news, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. reported positive earnings for the second quarter of 2025, with earnings per share of -$1.17, beating the forecast of -$1.30. The company’s revenue reached $166 million, surpassing the expected $161.97 million. Ultragenyx also shared promising long-term data from its Phase 3 study of DTX401, an AAV gene therapy for glycogen storage disease type Ia, showing a 61% reduction in daily cornstarch intake at 96 weeks. Additionally, the company has begun a rolling submission of a Biologics License Application to the FDA for DTX401, targeting Glycogen Storage Disease Type Ia. Analyst firms have maintained positive ratings, with Cantor Fitzgerald reiterating an Overweight rating and H.C. Wainwright sustaining a Buy rating, citing strong data from the GlucoGene study. The research firms highlighted Ultragenyx’s focus on gene therapies for conditions with high unmet medical needs. These developments reflect the company’s ongoing efforts to advance its gene therapy pipeline.

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