Roche announces restructure

Roche has announced who will be taking over the role of head of corporate communications, following Rolf Schlapfer’s announcement that he will step down from the position at the end of this year.

Swiss Per-Olof Attinger will begin in his new post on January 1st next year, as well as taking up a membership of the Enlarged Corporate Executive Group.

His new post will see him work with Severin Schwan, chief executive officer of the Roche corporation.

Mr Attinger attended ETH Zurich to gain a degree in Chemical Engineering and also has an MBA from Insead. He has been part of the Roche family for around 16 years, originally joining the corporate finance department and taking up the position of Corporate Business Development manager.

Two years ago, Mr Attinger joined the firm’s Executive Committee and oversaw the acquisition of Ventana at the beginning of this year.

The Roche group is a leading manufacturer of cancer drugs, with other areas of work including drugs for viral infections, metabolic problems, diseases of the nervous system and inflammatory conditions.

It is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and carries out research into pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, as well as specialising in in-vitro diagnostics and virology.