Abbas Hussain Appointed as New Chief Executive Officer of Vifor Pharma

• Abbas Hussain will take over as CEO of the Vifor Pharma Group on 16 August 2021
• Succeeding Stefan Schulze, who has decided to step down and leave the company for personal reasons

ST. GALLEN, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

Abbas Hussain (56, British citizen) has a successful and international career of more than 30 years as an executive in the healthcare sector. From 2008 to 2017, Abbas Hussain held various leadership positions for the British pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline, most recently as Global President Pharmaceuticals and Vaccines for five years. Prior to that, he worked for 20 years for the U.S. pharmaceutical group Eli Lilly, holding management positions at sites in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia.

In recent years, he has contributed his experience as an independent member of the boards of directors of major pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies, such as Teva Pharmaceuticals, CSL and Cochlear. He has also acted as an advisor to private equity and venture capital firms focused on the healthcare sector. Abbas Hussain holds a Bachelor of Science in Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry from Loughborough Institute of Technology (UK), graduated from Duke University Fuqua Executive Business School (North Carolina, USA) and is a graduate of the Stanford Executive Program at Stanford University (California, USA).

Until Abbas Hussain joins the company on 16 August 2021, Stefan Schulze will continue to have overall executive responsibility for the Vifor Pharma Group. Stefan Schulze, who has been with Vifor Pharma for seven years, took over as CEO in March 2020. From 2017 to 2020, he was President of the Executive Committee and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Vifor Pharma Group. He joined the Vifor Pharma Group in 2014 as CEO of Vifor Fresenius Medical Care Renal Pharma Ltd. Prior to that, he worked for the German Fresenius Group for more than 20 years in various positions.

Jacques Theurillat, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vifor Pharma, commented: “We are delighted that Abbas Hussain, an experienced and entrepreneurial leader, will take over the helm of Vifor Pharma. Abbas Hussain brings over 30 years of track record at an international level in the healthcare sector, and also an impressive experience across the pharmaceutical value chain in both mature and emerging markets. His professional background makes him ideally suited to further drive Vifor Pharma's growth. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Stefan Schulze for his commitment to Vifor Pharma over the past seven years. He has made a significant contribution to the strong market position of the Vifor Pharma Group. We wish him all the best for the future.”

Vifor Pharma Group is a global pharmaceuticals company. It aims to become the global leader in iron deficiency, nephrology and cardio-renal therapies. The company is a partner of choice for pharmaceuticals and innovative patient-focused solutions. Vifor Pharma Group strives to help patients around the world with severe and chronic diseases lead better, healthier lives. The company develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products for precision patient care. Vifor Pharma Group holds a leading position in all its core business activities and consists of the following companies: Vifor Pharma and Vifor Fresenius Medical Care Renal Pharma (a joint company with Fresenius Medical Care). Vifor Pharma Group is headquartered in Switzerland, and listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX Swiss Exchange, VIFN, ISIN: CH0364749348).

For more information, please visit viforpharma.com.