– USA, PA – Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (Nasdaq: ABUS), an industry-leading Hepatitis B Virus therapeutic solutions company, today announced the appointment of William H. Collier as President and CEO, effective June 24th.
Mr. Collier has also been appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of Arbutus, effective June 24th, to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Mark J. Murray, Ph.D., from the Board of Directors.
Dr. Murray will continue to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors until his retirement on June 23rd. Dr. Murray and Arbutus Biopharma entered into a consulting agreement on June 13, 2019, whereby Dr. Murray will provide transition services from June 24, 2019, to August 23, 2019.
“We are excited to have Bill join our exceptionally experienced team – one that has already demonstrated a remarkable ability to discover and develop important new anti-viral medicines – and look forward to him leading the next phase of the company’s growth,” said Frank Torti, M.D., Chairman of Arbutus’ Board of Directors.
“I would like to thank Mark for his service and extend a warm welcome to Bill,” he added.
Dr. Mark Murray noted, “With the effective consolidation of Arbutus’s operations and scientific team in Warminster, Pennsylvania, a pipeline focused on a combination therapeutic regimen to cure HBV, and a clear strategic business plan in place, I believe this is an opportune time for me to retire and for Arbutus to move forward under Bill Collier’s leadership. I believe Bill’s extensive experience in the development and commercialization of multiple virology products and his passion for building competitive, high performing teams will be of great value to Arbutus.”
About Bill Collier
Mr. Collier has over 30 years of experience as a senior executive in the pharmaceutical industry and previously served as President and General Manager, North America at ViiV Healthcare. At ViiV he led the industry-leading launches of several new treatments for HIV. Prior to joining ViiV in 2009, Mr. Collier held multiple senior leadership roles at GlaxoSmithKline. Earlier in his career, he led the launches of new treatments for herpes and bacterial infections. Mr. Collier received his BSc in Mathematics and Management Sciences from the University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology, UK, and served on The President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS from 2014 to 2017.
“I am delighted to join Arbutus at this important inflection point in the company’s growth,” said Mr. Collier. “HBV represents a global public health threat. It is the world’s most common serious liver infection and is up to 100 times more infectious than the HIV virus. It is also the primary cause of liver cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer death in the world. Regrettably, as yet, there are no effective curative treatments for these patients. I believe that Arbutus’ diverse pipeline focused on HBV has the promise to offer people suffering from Hepatitis B a potentially curative treatment.”
About Arbutus
Arbutus Biopharma Corporation is a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing a cure for patients suffering from chronic Hepatitis B infection. Arbutus is developing multiple drug candidates, each of which has the potential to improve upon the standard of care and contribute to a curative combination regimen.
For more information: http://www.arbutusbio.com
- Disclaimer - News, data, and statements included in this release are intended exclusively for general information purposes. Talent4Boards does not guarantee that news is accurate or about the correct person and accepts neither liability for the consequences of the reader’s reliance, nor responsibility for the accuracy of the information. Nothing in this release should be considered for decisions about referred securities. Products and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
