Effective 1 April 2006, Olympus America will combine its scientific equipment group, diagnostic systems group and life science business development unit to create a new Life Science Group.
The move is designed to align the company's organization with that of other Olympus entities worldwide and prepare the corporation for a growing emphasis on translational research and personalised medicine over the next decade.
Stephen Tang, currently vice president for life science business development, will take on a newly created position as group vice president and general manager, life science.
In his new position, Tang will oversee all operations of the life science group, including US product and business development, sales, service, marketing, communications and training.
He will continue to report to Olympus America president and chief operating officer, Mark Gumz.
The creation of the Life Science Group will also precede the anticipated retirement of George Steares, a pillar in the field of microscopy, who has announced his impending retirement as head of the Scientific Equipment Group in June.
"As we move into an era where we integrate traditional diagnostics and microscopy with genomic, proteomic and internet-based technologies, Stephen Tang is undoubtedly the leader we need to move us forward," said Gumz.
"He has a deep understanding of our laboratory and research markets, along with the healthcare industry, and has the vision to help us develop our future as new technologies emerge in medicine." The Olympus Scientific Equipment Group markets microscopes, imaging systems and solutions, and has the largest US market share in both clinical and educational microscopes.
The Diagnostic Systems Group is the leading supplier of chemistry analyzers for large reference labs; its blood banking systems are used to oversee the safety of approximately 90 percent of the US blood supply.
"By linking our microscopy and diagnostics groups, we not only further strengthen each of these highly successful business units, but we also are better able to integrate emerging scientific developments to create products and services that help improve people's lives," said Tang.
"We are looking into new technologies that enable better decision making in drug development, and are investing in genomics to be on the cutting-edge of personalized medicine, developing diagnostic and therapeutic solutions to help doctors predict and prevent disease." Before coming to Olympus a year ago, Dr Tang was president, chief executive officer and a director of Millennium Cell , an energy technology firm that he led from 2000 to 2004 through its initial public offering.
Earlier, he served as vice president and managing director of the global pharmaceutical and healthcare practice of AT Kearney , and was vice president and co-managing director of the global chemical and environmental practice for Gemini Consulting, now known as Cap Gemini.
Prior to that, he was the assistant director and senior research engineer at the Lehigh University Center for Molecular Bioscience and Biotechnology in Bethlehem, PA.
