Placement | HealthCare Royalty Partners appoint William M. Burns to the firm’s Senior Advisor Board
The RSA Group is pleased to announce the placement of William M. Burns to the Senior Advisor Board at HealthCare Royalty (HCR) Partners, an investment firm that purchases royalties and invests in commercial or near-commercial stage BioPharmaceutical assets.
HealthCare Royalty Partners’ Senior Advisor Board (SAB) is comprised of world-class leaders with extensive experience in building large and small global biopharmaceutical and specialty pharmaceutical companies, conducting scientific research which results in the improvement of medicine, managing clinical product development, and launching and commercialising products in the global marketplace. The SAB was created to support HCR Partners’ investment team in identifying emerging industry trends and markets, conducting asset diligence and evaluation for prospective investment opportunities, and broadening industry relationships around the globe.
William M. Burns has more than 40 years of industry experience, including 23 years at Roche Pharmaceuticals, culminating in his tenure as Chief Executive Officer from 2001 to 2009. During his time with Roche, Mr. Burns had significant involvement in the privatisation of Genentech, the integration of Boehringer Mannheim and the negotiations that resulted in Roche becoming a majority owner of Chugai in Japan. Over the past decade, Mr. Burns has held numerous non-executive board positions including F. Hoffmann La Roche, Chugai Pharmaceuticals, Genentech, Shire PLC and Biotie. Mr. Burns retired from the board of Wellcome Trust in 2020 and continues as a trustee of the Institute of Cancer Research, London. Mr. Burns currently serves as the non-executive chairman of the board of directors for both Molecular Partners and Vestergaard Holding, and the non-executive vice chairman of Mesoblast. Mr. Burns is a member of the Novo Holdings Advisory Group and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Center for Integrated Oncology of the University of Cologne/Bonn. Mr. Burns holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
Nick Stephens, Executive Chairman at The RSA Group, commented, “It was vital for this search that we find exactly the right type of world class talent and as an accomplished and inspiring leader in the biopharmaceutical industry William was a perfect fit. We wish him all the best in his new role.”
Paul J. Hadden, Partner and member of the Investment Committee at HCR Partners, commented, “The RSA team took the time to listen and understand our requirements and in turn, convey this eloquently to candidates. The outcome was a job well done and we are pleased to welcome Bill to our Senior Advisor Board.”