Semi Korpela appointed new President and CEO of Biohit Oyj
Biohit Oyj
Company Announcement
14.12.2011 05:15 pm
Semi Korpela, M.Sc. (Econ.), 41, has been appointed Biohit Oyj's President and CEO as of 15 December 2011. At the same time, Biohit's current President and CEO, Jussi Heiniö, will transfer to Sartorius, the acquirer of Biohit's liquid handling business. The company will issue a separate release on the completion of the sale.
Korpela served as Biohit's Financial Director in 2003–2006. After this, he has held the same position in various companies.
”Semi Korpela is already familiar with the company and its business. He is highly capable and motivated to lead Biohit Oyj towards strong and profitable growth, together with Biohit's experienced personnel, leading Finnish and foreign scientists, and international partners. Demand for Biohit's products and services will increase, particularly due to ageing of the population and the resulting significant increase in the need for safe and cost-effective diagnosis and prevention of diseases. There is a major need for products that bind and neutralise acetaldehyde. This demand will further increase as the general public learns that, like asbestos and tobacco, acetaldehyde is a Group I carcinogen. This is why all means should be used to bind and neutralise acetaldehyde in the body," says Osmo Suovaniemi, Chairman of Biohit's Board of Directors.
”To join Biohit at a time when the company is at a major turning point in its history poses a challenge. The company is now focusing resources on tapping the vast market potential of its current products, which are based on a range of innovations, while fulfilling the related social responsibilities. Biohit’s diagnostic products, such as GastroPanel for the diagnostics of abdominal complaints, and products like Acetium that bind and neutralise carcinogenic acetaldehyde, are globally unique in the diagnostics and prevention of gastrointestinal diseases," says Korpela.
For more information, please contact:
Osmo Suovaniemi
MD, Ph.D, Professor
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Tel. +358 40 745 5605
osmo.suovaniemi@biohit.com
Distribution:
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Oyj
Central Storage Facility (www.oam.fi)
Press
www.biohit.com
About Biohit
Biohit Oyj is a globally operating Finnish biotechnology company established in 1988. Biohit's mission crystallises in its motto “Innovating for Health”. The company assumes social responsibility by producing innovations, new technologies and analysis systems for use in medicine, research institutions and industry. These products help to promote research and diagnostics, while improving quality of life by preventing disease, human suffering and financial loss. Biohit also seeks to innovate and develop the marketing and availability of its products and services, in order to ensure its profitable growth and ability to pay dividends.
Biohit works with scientific communities to produce new technologies, products and services based on research results and innovations. These can be used to develop safe and cost-effective diagnostic tests for the early detection and prevention of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
Biohit's products include analysis systems for the prevention and early diagnosis of gastrointestinal diseases, such as the blood-sample based GastroPanel examinations for the diagnosis of stomach illnesses and associated risks, quick tests for the diagnosis of lactose intolerance and H. pylori infection in connection with gastroscopy, and the ColonView examination for the early detection of intestinal bleeding that indicates a risk of colorectal cancer. Acetium reduces the amount of carcinogenic acetaldehyde in an anacidic stomach.
Biohit employs around 35 people. The company is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland and has a subsidiary in the UK. Since 1999, Biohit’s Series B share (BIOBV) has been quoted on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki in the Small cap/Healthcare group and is traded under the code BIOBV (www.biohit.com/investors).
Read more at www.biohit.com.