Ipsen announced the appointment of Michelle C. Werner as Executive Vice President (EVP), President of North America, effective 23 March 2026. Michelle will serve on the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and will report directly to Ipsen’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), David Loew.
“I am very pleased to welcome Michelle to Ipsen and to the Executive Leadership Team. She brings a wealth of experience in leading teams both in the U.S. and around the world and has a deep understanding of the United States and all the great opportunities that this market offers for Ipsen at a moment when we are accelerating the growth of our portfolio in rare diseases, oncology and neurosciences. These are therapeutic areas where Michelle has excelled over her extensive career” declared David Loew, CEO.
Michelle joins us from Alltrna, a U.S.-based biotech, where she has served as President and CEO since 2022. Michelle has spent her 25+ year career in the pharmaceutical industry, starting at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) first in the sales and commercial teams in UK at country level and then marketing for the EMEA region within their Oncology division. In 2009 she was appointed Director for Global Market Access for their Oncology & Virology portfolios, back in the U.S. In 2011 she was appointed Global Brand Lead for their Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) portfolio and in 2014 she became the U.S. Brand Lead for their Reyataz® and Evotaz® franchises. In 2015 Michelle moved to AstraZeneca to serve as Head of the Immuno-Oncology franchise & Oncology business unit in the U.S. where she oversaw several major product launches. In 2018 she was appointed Country President for the Nordics & Baltics based in Sweden. In 2020 Michelle came back to the U.S. as Global Franchise Head for Hematology. Shortly after, she moved to Novartis Oncology where she served as Global Franchise Head for Solid Tumors starting in July 2020, before joining Alltrna.
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“I am thrilled to be joining the Executive Leadership Team and look forward to leading Ipsen’s operations and teams in the United States at such a fascinating moment of the company’s transformation”, said Michelle. “Joining a company that brings together two therapeutic areas where I have deep passion and expertise such as rare diseases and oncology, is one of those unique opportunities that comes at the right time in my journey. I look forward to working with the team to make a beneficial impact for the patients we serve.”
Keira Driansky, EVP and President for North America, is leaving the company to pursue external opportunities. During her two years at Ipsen, Keira has led an important transformation of the U.S. affiliate increasing the growth in US sales and the visibility of Ipsen’s brand in the U.S. The company thanks Keira for her contributions during her tenure.
We are a global biopharmaceutical company with a focus on bringing transformative medicines to patients in three therapeutic areas: Oncology, Rare Disease and Neuroscience. Our pipeline is fueled by internal and external innovation and supported by nearly 100 years of development experience and global hubs in the U.S., France and the U.K. Our teams in more than 40 countries and our partnerships around the world enable us to bring medicines to patients in more than 100 countries.
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