Grail CEO Bob Ragusa to retire, Josh Ofman named successor

March 12 (Reuters) – Cancer test maker Grail said on Thursday that chief executive Bob Ragusa will retire effective June 1, and the company’s president, Josh Ofman, will take over the helm.

Here are some details:

* Ragusa, who became CEO in 2021, has overseen the cancertest maker’s transition into an independent company after beingspun out of gene sequencing company Illumina. * Ofman, who held previous senior roles at Amgen and otherhealthcare organizations, has been central to advancing itsflagship cancer-detection test, Galleri, the company said. * The leadership transition comes at a critical juncture forGrail as disappointing trial results for Galleri cast doubt onthe test’s commercial prospects. * Last month, the company said routine screening withGalleri failed to significantly boost early detection or reducelate-stage diagnoses in a pivotal three-year UK trial. * “(The CEO change) has been in development for some timeand is unrelated to the NHS trial readout,” said Guggenheimanalyst Subbu Nambi. * Ragusa will remain on Grail’s board until his retirementdate and is expected to serve in a senior advisory capacitythrough March 2027, the company said.

(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)