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Illumina has appointed Jacob Thaysen as its new chief executive, as the biotech group seeks to rebuild its leadership team following a bruising battle with activist investor Carl Icahn.
The world’s largest gene-sequencing company said on Tuesday that Thaysen, who previously ran Agilent Technologies’ life sciences and applied markets group, would begin as chief executive on September 25.
Thaysen, a 48-year-old Danish executive, faces a big challenge in turning round Illumina’s financial performance at a time when it remains embroiled in disputes with EU and US competition regulators.
Illumina’s former chair John Thompson was ousted from its board in May following a battle with Icahn, who criticised management for closing the $8bn acquisition of cancer test company Grail without regulatory approval.
Former Illumina chief executive Francis deSouza resigned shortly afterwards and the company was fined €432mn in July for closing the deal without approval from European officials.
Last month, Illumina disclosed that the US Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating its acquisition of Grail. The agency has asked for statements and disclosures related to the “conduct and compensation” of certain members of both Illumina and Grail’s management, according to a filing by the company.
Illumina is embroiled in multiple legal appeals against the European Commission and Federal Trade Commission in a bid to overturn divestment orders issued over its 2021 acquisition of Grail. The prolonged legal battle and mounting competition in the genomics industry have caused investors to question the company’s strategy to diversify into cancer diagnostics.
Illumina’s market capitalisation has plunged from $75bn in August 2021, when it bought Grail, to just over $26bn on Tuesday.
Investors greeted the appointment cautiously with shares in Illumina falling as much as 3 per cent to $161.80 when the market opened on Tuesday.
But some analysts welcomed the appointment of Thaysen, who will replace interim chief executive Charles Dadswell.
Vijay Kumar, analyst at Evercore ISI, said Thaysen had the necessary blend of technical skills and experience to run Illumina.
“He comes with a core [genomics] background, which was critical in our mind given the context of previous hire [deSouza] being outside the industry,” said Kumar. “Thaysen is a top leader at one of the top five life science companies and is well known by the life sciences and technology investor base . . . which should help on the communication front.”
Dadswell will resume his position as senior vice-president and general counsel once Thaysen becomes chief executive.