Bayer (Leverkusen, Germany) has announced that Bayer HealthCare CEO Arthur J. Higgins will be leaving the company "at his own request" on April 30. His role will be filled from August 15 by Dr. Joerg Reinhardt, currently Chief Operating Officer at Novartis. Former Thermo Fisher CEO Dr Marijn Dekkers, who joined the Bayer Management Board in January, will take over Higgins' role in the interim, prior to succeeding Werner Wenning as CEO of Bayer AG in October.

"Over the past years, Arthur Higgins has made a decisive contribution to the restructuring and strengthening of Bayer HealthCare and has set new trends," commented Wenning. "We thank him for his great commitment and wish him well for the future."