Roche Diagnostics has lured back Matthew Sause from Gilead Sciences, to be president and CEO of its North American operations.
Prior to his months-long stint at Gilead earlier this year—where he served as senior vice president and head of global commercial product strategy—Sause had spent 17 years within the Roche Group.
Twelve of those years were in the Big Pharma’s diagnostics division, including commercial positions in Asia, sales roles in the U.S., and country operations leadership in Ireland.
In 2014, Sause moved to Roche’s pharmaceuticals side, serving as president of country operations in Peru and Korea, before being named global vice president and lifecycle leader for Genentech’s Tecentriq. He will become the diagnostics company’s North American chief Nov. 4, based out of its Indianapolis headquarters.
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Sause takes over for Jack Phillips, who left Roche Diagnostics in August after nine years in the position to become chief operating officer of Accelerate Diagnostics, a Tucson, Arizona-based in vitro company focused on antibiotic resistance and sepsis.
"We are very pleased to have gained a highly experienced leader in Matt," Roche Diagnostics CEO Thomas Schinecker said in a statement. "He brings deep understanding of diagnostics in unique combination with many years of commercial leadership in pharmaceuticals. As we help our customers integrate the full range of diagnostics into the broader delivery of healthcare, Matt's experience will be invaluable."
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Schinecker himself became CEO of the larger diagnostics group earlier this year, after heading up the company’s centralized and point-of-care division—which saw 8% growth last year, driven in part by moves into the Asia-Pacific region and expansions in immunodiagnostics and clinical chemistry.
Total North American sales, meanwhile—including molecular and tissue-based diagnostics, as well as diabetes care products—grew by 7% in 2018 compared to the year before, while remaining about 25% of the company’s global haul.