Xellia Pharmaceuticals announces the appointment of Michael Kocher as its new Chief Executive Officer

Copenhagen, Denmark, 14 June 2023 - Xellia Pharmaceuticals (‘Xellia’), a global leading pharmaceutical company, announces the appointment of Michael Kocher as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Michael Kocher, Head of Global B2B-Business in Sandoz and Country President of Novartis in Austria is appointed as CEO of Xellia starting 1 October 2023 where he will replace Carl-Åke Carlsson, who has been with Xellia as CEO since 2008.

“Xellia Pharmaceuticals has under Carl-Åke Carlsson gone through an important transformation from being primarily an API supplier into an integrated specialty pharma company”, says Steen Riisgaard, Chairman of Xellia. “Carl-Åke Carlsson has with his visionary mindset, go-do mentality and trust in people been instrumental in this journey, and I want on behalf of the Board to express our greatest thanks for his commitment to Xellia for the past 15 years.”

With more than 10 years of commercial leadership roles in Novartis and Sandoz, Michael Kocher holds extensive experience within the pharmaceutical industry in a global environment. After joining Sandoz in 2012 as Global Head of Commercial Operations, Michael Kocher was appointed as Global Head of B2B in 2016 and was with his team responsible for their development beyond APIs to become a leading global partner for the industry. He is a German of nationality and a chemist of training.

“Michael Kocher has an experience and knowledge from his past positions that perfectly matches the high ambitions we have for the development of Xellia to the benefit of our partners, customers and most importantly, patients.” says Chairman Steen Riisgaard.