Thierry Bernard, CEO of QIAGEN, says the COVID-19 pandemic might yet have an upside: more prevention-driven healthcare.
COVID-19 quickly saw the testing industry step up to the incredible challenge of increasing output […] – many thousands more devices that can now be used to fight other infectious diseases and cancers better and quicker.
Thierry Bernard, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Modern testing has traditionally been undervalued and underestimated. While 66 percent of treatment decision-making was based on so-called in-vitro diagnostics, only 2.3 percent of US healthcare expenditure went into buying these regulated testing devices.
Thierry Bernard, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Testing has moved out of the laboratory to the patient’s bedside – with compact portable instruments that sit in a hospital ward or doctor’s office. And getting samples has become less invasive.
Thierry Bernard, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
More prevention in the future
Testing is knowledge and knowledge is power – the power to trigger early-stage treatment that reduces usually more complicated and expensive late-stage interventions. Testing gives doctors and patients critical insights at every stage of medical care – from prevention via detection, diagnosis to treatment. As we return to some kind of normal, we should embrace testing as a key part of targeted, evidence-based and more preventative medicine that can save millions of lives and billions of dollars – and help to avert the next pandemic.Thierry Bernard, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Thierry Bernard joined QIAGEN in February 2015 to lead the company’s growing presence in molecular diagnostics, the application of Sample to Insight solutions for molecular testing in human healthcare. He was named Chief Executive Officer in March 2020 after serving in this role on an interim basis and became a member of the Managing Board in 2021. Previously, Mr. Bernard held roles of increasing responsibility during 15 years with bioMérieux SA, most recently as Corporate Vice President, Global Commercial Operations, Investor Relations and the Greater China Region, and held senior management roles in several other leading international companies. He was named Chair of the AdvaMedDx Board of Directors in March 2023, a US industry trade association, and joined the Board of Directors of Neogen Corporation (NASDAQ: NEOG) in 2024. Mr. Bernard has earned degrees and certifications from Sciences Po, the London School of Economics, the College of Europe, Harvard Business School, Centro de Comercio Exterior de Barcelona. He has been appointed Conseiller du Commerce Extérieur by the French government.