Sandoz has appointed Armin Metzger as President, Biosimilar Development, Manufacturing & Supply. Metzger will also become a member of the Sandoz Executive Committee (SEC), effective 1 April 2026.
Most recently, Metzger was Executive Vice President, Chief Technical Operations Officer at Ferring Pharmaceuticals, where he has held multiple senior technological leadership roles since 2016.
Prior to that, he spent nearly 20 years in technological and scientific leadership roles at Merck and Merck Serono.
The appointment follows Sandoz’s creation of a new biosimilar development, manufacturing and supply unit. Consolidating biosimilar development, manufacturing and supply under one SEC leader will enable the company to achieve clear ownership, faster decision-making and stronger alignment.
Sandoz CEO, Richard Saynor, said: “We stand at the start of an unprecedented ‘golden decade’ for patient access, with medicines worth more than $650bn set to lose exclusivity over the next ten years…and Sandoz is determined to capture this opportunity.
“Despite their many synergies, the two parts of the business have different development, manufacturing and supply requirements, as well as increasingly divergent market dynamics. This change will enable us to focus our efforts more sharply on accelerating biosimilar growth while further strengthening our generic operations to increase our competitive edge.”
Under the new organisational set-up, Claire D’Abreu-Hayling, currently Chief Scientific Officer, becomes President, Generics Development and Chief Scientific Officer. Glenn Gerecke, currently Chief Manufacturing & Supply Officer, is appointed President, Generics Manufacturing & Supply. Both remain as members of the SEC.
Additionally, in a move to simplify and align the overall organizational structure, Thomas Weigold, Country Head, Sandoz Germany, will in future report into Christophe Delenta, President Europe. As of April 1, 2026, Germany’s interests will therefore be represented on the SEC at a European regional level.
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, generic medicines represent 70% of Sandoz net sales globally in 2025.