(Reuters) – Roche said the head of its diagnostics division, Thomas Schinecker, is to become group chief executive next year, replacing Severin Schwan, who will take the role of chairman of the board of directors.
Chairman Christoph Franz will not seek re-election after nine years as board chairman at the next annual shareholder meeting in March 2023, the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement on Thursday.
In a separate scheduled release, Roche said first-half adjusted operating income rose a better-than-expected 9% on higher sales of diagnostic tests and pharmaceuticals.
Core operating income, which is adjusted for one-off effects, gained 9% to 12.67 billion Swiss francs ($13.07 billion), the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement on Thursday, above an analyst consensus of 12.1 billion francs.
It confirmed its full-year guidance.
Under Schinecker’s leadership, the diagnostics business saw a surge in demand for COVID-19 test kits during the pandemic, which has been easing during the second quarter.
Roche reaffirmed that sales of COVID-19 medicines and diagnostics would decrease by about 2 billion Swiss francs this year to around 5 billion francs.
Schwan has been a member of the executive committee since 2006 and has served as CEO since 2008, overseeing a strong share price performance.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, editing by Kirsti Knolle)