Heiner Dreismann

Heiner Dreismann, PhD is the former President and CEO of Roche Molecular Systems and an ACTIVE member of the biotechnology industry.

Career

In 1983, Dreismann was appointed to Director of Research and Development at Roehm GmbH, a manufacturer of industrial enzymes. In 1985, he joined Roche Diagnostics as Vice President of Manufacturing. During his 21 year tenure at Roche, he operated in numerous executive capacities, culminating in his position as President and CEO of Roche Molecular Systems in 2000. His notable accomplishments include:

• During his tenure as president, Roche developed PCR based diagnostic tests in response to the SARS epidemic

• During his tenure as president, Roche developed the diagnostic test, TaqScreen, in response to the threat of infected blood banks during the West Nile Virus outbreak. The test entered FDA clinical trials and could detect the West Nile Virus and other similar encephalitis-causing viruses, possibly ensuring the safety of North American blood banks supplies in the future. .

• By his departure in 2006, Roche Molecular Systems had doubled in size. The In Vitro Diagnostics segment grew from $640 million to $1.2 billion.

Dreismann currently serves as President and CEO of Vectrant Technologies, Inc. a privately held diagnostics company. Additionally, he serves on the boards of a number of high-technology companies, including Singulex, Nanogen, GeneNews, MedBioGene, Magellan Biosciences et al. Most recently, he has joined the board of Shrink Nanotechnologies

Education

Dreismann has a Masters Degree in Biology and a PhD in Microbiology/Molecular Biology from Westfälische Wilhelms University, Muenster, Germany. He completed Post-Doctoral studies with the French Center for Nuclear Research, Sanclay, France, investigating gram-negative bacteria genetics.