Mary Tanner is Senior Managing Director of EVOLUTION Life Sciences Partners (ELSP). She is also co-founder and Managing Partner of Life Sciences Partners, LLC, a financial advisory firm. At Life Sciences Partners, Tanner specialized in healthcare investment and strategic advisory work. Before joining ELSP, Mary Tanner was Senior Managing Director of both Burrill & Company and Burrill Securities. She is a former Senior Managing Director at Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and Peter. J. Solomon Company.
At Lehman Brothers, with Frederick Frank, she headed a global healthcare investment banking franchise for over twenty years. Tanner has devoted more than 25 years to the global healthcare and biotechnology industry. Her expertise includes the ethical pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, diagnostics, medical devices, healthcare services, cosmetics and consumer medicines, as well as green technologies in chemicals.
In addition to her well known work with large companies, she specializes in domestic and cross-border transactions between large and small companies, including corporate partnering and minority investments and cross-border mergers. Tanner has directed over 500 mergers and acquisitions, over 130 initial public offerings and hundreds of financings. Tanner’s clients have included Pfizer in its $60 billion acquisition of Pharmacia, Amgen in its $16 billion acquisition of Immunex, Rhône-Poulenc in its $1.8 billion acquisition of Rorer, followed by representing Rhône-Poulenc Rorer in its £ 1.8 billion acquisition of U.K. company Fisons, Marion Merrell Dow in its $7.1 billion acquisition by Hoechst BASF/BASF Pharma, in its £ 840 million acquisition of U.K. Boots Pharmaceuticals. Tanner received a B.A. magna cum laude from Harvard University. Ms. Tanner is a member of the Board of Directors of Lineagen, Inc., a molecular diagnostic company, and Genticel, S.A., an immuno oncology company. She serves on the Dean’s Council of the Yale Medical School and the Yale School of Organization and Management Advisory Board. Ms. Tanner has been honored for her contributions to biotechnology with numerous awards, including the highest award of Springboard Enterprises, the Oracle, for professional accomplishment and mentoring of women entrepreneurs.