Roche announces departure of board member

Roche has announced that Arthur Levinson has stepped down from his position as a member of the company's board of directors.

Mr Levinson has a long association with Roche and its subsidiary Genentech. He originally joined Genentech in 1980 as a research scientist, eventually ascending to the post of chief executive officer between 1995 and 2009.

He has been a member of the board of directors of Roche since 2010, taking up the position of chief executive of Calico –  a company focusing on understanding the process of ageing and developing therapies for age-related diseases – in 2013.

Mr Levinson has decided to resign from his post at Roche with immediate effect, in order to avoid any conflict of interest with his responsibilities at Calico.

Christoph Franz, chairman of the board of directors at Roche, said: "The board has greatly valued Art's focus on patients, his scientific expertise and business leadership during this period of growth for Roche."

Dr Franz has served as chairman since earlier this year, when he succeeded the outgoing Dr Franz Humer.