Bill Anderson Of Roche Is Stepping Down

Bill Anderson, the CEO of the pharmaceutical division of Roche, is stepping down from his position at the end of the year. He took over as the company's CEO in 2019 after serving as the head of Genentech, its subsidiary. This year, the sector suffered from various clinical setbacks. According to a statement released by the company, Anderson will leave to pursue other opportunities.

Thomas Schinecker, who will become the new CEO of the company, will be tasked with filling Anderson's shoes. In March, the company announced that Schinecker would be replacing Severin Schwan.

Anderson's departure means that Schinecker will take on the role of acting CEO until a replacement is found. This will happen in March 2019. In addition, Severin Schwan will become the company's chairman.

During the pandemic, Schinecker's star rose. In 2019, the company's testing sales grew by almost 30% to reach 17.8 billion Swiss francs. COVID diagnostics contributed about a quarter of the total. This performance helped the company recover from the decline in its oncology business, especially in the US, where the emergence of biosimilars has affected the sales of multiple blockbusters such as Herceptin and Rituxan.

In 2019, the company suffered from various clinical setbacks. For instance, in May, the company revealed that its Alzheimer's disease drug gantenerumab failed in a pair of phase 3 trials. In the same month, the company also announced that its lung cancer drug tiragolumab was not able to meet its goal.

Last week, Tecentriq, a Roche immuno-oncology drug, failed in a phase 3 trial for patients with advanced lung cancer. This was another setback for the company's multiple cancer drug combinations.

Anderson joined Genentech in 2006. He became the company's chief marketing officer in 2013. He returned to his role as the CEO of the company in 2016.

Although it's not clear where Anderson will take his next career path, it's widely expected that he will stay in the pharmaceutical industry. Before Christopher Viehbacher became Biogen's new CEO, some investors suggested that Anderson could be a potential replacement for Michel Vounatsos.