John Sperzel has been named the new CEO of ITC Nexus Dx, a global provider of point of care testing systems and advanced diagnostic solutions. Sperzel was most recently president of Axis-Shield USA, which focuses on POC immunoassay systems and whose parent company has been a takeover target of Alere.
"I am honored to lead ITC Nexus Dx as Chief Executive Officer," said Sperzel. "We have a history of innovation in Point of Care testing and our products and services provide unique solutions to customers around the world. The people at ITC Nexus Dx are the cornerstone of our company and we will pursue product quality and innovation, operational excellence and customer satisfaction with passion and focus."
In addition to his time at Axis-Shield, Sperzel held positions at Bayer Diagnostics, Instrumentation Laboratory and Boehringer Mannheim Diagnostics (Roche).
Meanwhile, Sperzel's former company has been rebuffing Alere's £230 million ($375 million) takeover bid, viewing the offer as too low. The rivals have competing tests; Alere's Cholestech LDX machine competes with Axis-Shield's Afinion system, for example. Analysts believe Alere might have to pay more for Axis-Shield. Sebastien Jantet, an analyst at Investec Securities, thinks £285 million might be a fair price for the company.
- see the release on Sperzel