Bayer has named former Pfizer executive Dr Olivier Brandicourt as chief executive of its healthcare division, effective November 1.
Brandicourt will replace Wolfgang Plischke, who has been acting CEO of Bayer Healthcare since March, following the departure of predecessor Joerg Reinhardt to take up the chairmanship of Swiss rival Novartis.
At Pfizer, Dr Brandicourt has latterly played a key role in the development of the emerging markets business, while also overseeing the US group’s portfolio of established products, having previously played country and regional management roles in Latin America, Europe, Canada, the UK and the US.
“With Olivier Brandicourt we have found a strong leader with outstanding international experience and a successful track record in the healthcare industry,” said Bayer CEO Marijn Dekkers.
57-year-old Brandicourt is a physician by training with 25 years of experience in the drug sector, and has been a member of Pfizer’s executive leadership team for the last three years.
In his last position he tried to position the company’s older products as a growth platform in emerging markets, for example with the development of new formulations, at a time when some investors had been suggesting the company should jettison them and focus on new high-growth brands.
Brandicourt joins Bayer at a time when the company’s healthcare unit is growing fairly well despite a tough operating environment, with products such as anticoagulant Xarelto (rivaroxaban), ophthalmic drug Eylea (aflibercept) and Stivarga (regorafenib) for colorectal cancer all in the launch phase and growing strongly.
Commenting on his new role, Brandicourt said he was “looking forward to joining the Bayer team”, adding that the group has a “clear focus on research and development as well as a passion and dedication to improving people’s lives”.
During his time as a practicing physician, Dr Brandicourt specialised in infectious diseases, and spent two years in the Congo. He also spent four years in West and central Africa working in malaria research as part of an eight-year spell with the tropical disease institute in Paris.