Rice Biotech Launch Pad adds William McKeon to external advisory board

HOUSTON, March 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rice University today announced the addition of William McKeon to its external advisory board for the Rice Biotech Launch Pad, a Houston-based accelerator focused on expediting the translation of the university's health and medical technology discoveries into cures. 

With an extensive background in leadership positions in the pharmaceutical and medical field and an unmatched knowledge of the Houston life sciences space, McKeon will provide crucial insight and collaboration to the Launch Pad as it advances its work to turn Houston into a world-leading hub for medical innovation. He has been the president and chief executive officer of the Texas Medical Center (TMC) since 2017 and has over 40 years of experience in the life sciences industry.

"The appointment of a figure like Bill McKeon, who heads the largest medical city in the world at TMC, to the Launch Pad's external advisory board marks another highpoint of our commitment to the city of Houston," said Paul Wotton, executive director and chairman of the Rice Biotech Launch Pad. "Under Bill, the TMC has been of massive importance for the Launch Pad in facilitating collaboration with partners and delivering innovative medical technologies. William's appointment further validates this relationship and sets the basis for new successful transitions from lab to clinic."

"We are delighted to welcome Bill McKeon to the Launch Pad's remarkable external advisory board as he is a truly skilled leader whose local influence and strategic guidance will help elevate the Rice Biotech Launch Pad as a source for clinical advancements," said Omid Veiseh, associate professor of bioengineering at Rice and faculty director of the accelerator. "His expertise in business development in various branches of life sciences matches perfectly with the needs of the various, novel startups looking to emerge from the accelerator."

"I am honored to join the exceptional advisory board of the Rice Biotech Launch Pad," said McKeon. "The Launch Pad closely aligns with TMC's ongoing efforts to accelerate the discovery of new advancements through collaboration. I look forward to sharing the insights we have gained at the TMC Innovation Factory and through our TMC Venture Fund to help Rice rapidly bring new, groundbreaking solutions to patients."

As president and CEO of the TMC, McKeon oversees more than 60 institutions and 120,000 employees with an annual GDP exceeding $22 billion. At TMC, he drives strategic, operational and innovation initiatives, positioning it as a global leader in life sciences. McKeon's career began at DuPont, followed by leadership roles at Stanford University Medical Center, Raytel Medical Systems (now part of Philips' health care services), U.S. Oncology and Medtronic. He also served as president and CEO of MicroPort in Shanghai and Cellnovo in London, contributing to their growth and innovation.

McKeon currently serves as vice chairman of the Board of Trustees at Roger Williams University and sits on various other boards, including Greater Houston Partnership, Deep 6 AI, TMC Venture Fund and the TMC. He holds a Bachelor of Science in legal studies from Roger Williams University and a Master of Science in health care business management from the University of San Francisco.

McKeon is the 14th member of the Launch Pad's external advisory board. The other members are Jason Bock, founder and CEO of CTMC; Albert Cha, managing partner of Frazier Life Sciences; Rima Chakrabarti, partner at KdT Ventures and adjunct professor of neuroscience at the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine; John Flavin, founder and CEO of Portal Innovations, co-founder and chairman of Pyxis Oncology and entrepreneurial advisor of Argonne National Laboratory; Pierre Jacquet, managing director and vice chairman of L.E.K.'s health care consulting practice; Robert Langer, professor at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrated Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Dennis Lee, senior program officer, accelerator at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Ferran Prat, senior vice president of research administration and industry relations at the MD Anderson Cancer Center; Josh Richardson, managing director and senior investor on the life sciences investigating team at Goldman Sachs; David Schull, president of Russo Partners; Lisa Wright, president and CEO of Community Health Choice; Kevin Sheridan, managing director and joint global head of health care investment banking at Jefferies; and Robert Ruffolo, chairman of Aragen Biosciences.

About the Rice Biotech Launch Pad 

The Rice Biotech Launch Pad is a Houston-based accelerator focused on expediting the translation of Rice University's health and medical technology discoveries into cures. This initiative is designed to help advance internally discovered platform technologies from concept to clinical studies and commercialization. The Rice Biotech Launch Pad will identify and support highly differentiated projects while driving the expansion of Houston as a world-class medical innovation ecosystem. The accelerator will bring together local researchers with a network of industry executives. For more information, please visit https://biotechlaunchpad.rice.edu/.

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SOURCE Rice University