Hologic Names J&J's Eric Compton to Fill New COO Slot

Officials at Hologic Inc. say organizational and leadership changes will "better position the company to achieve its corporate objectives, which include organic growth and executional excellence across its global operations."

The newly-created position of chief operating officer will be filled by Eric Compton, the Bedford, MA-based company said Friday. Compton spent 19 years at Johnson & Johnson, culminating in his position as worldwide president of J&J's Ortho Clinical Diagnostics unit. In his new role, Compton will oversee all of Hologic's commercial operations in the United States, as well as global research and development, manufacturing, and service operations.

Claus Egstrand was appointed to the position of senior vice president and general manager of international business. Egstrand, who will work out of the company's London offices, will be responsible for operations outside of the United States. Egstrand previously held senior positions at major pharmaceutical and medical device companies including Merck, Stryker, Pfizer, and Pharmacia Corp.

Additionally, David Harding, who previously served as Hologic's group senior vice president and general manager of women's health, has been promoted to senior vice president of corporate strategy.

The company also announced that Glenn Muir, executive vice president, finance and administration, and chief financial officer, will retire. Muir joined Hologic in 1988 and has served as CFO since 1992 and executive vice president since 2000.

Hologic, which generates over $2 billion a year in sales, primarily focuses on womens' health. It develops, manufactures, and distributes diagnostics, imaging systems, and surgical products within four core business units - breast health, diagnostics, GYN surgical, and skeletal health.

Its Selenia Dimensions 3D breast tomosynthesis platform was the first to receive FDA approval. The company says 3D breast tomosynthesis addresses the primary limitation of 2D mammography, the superimposition of normal breast tissue, and allows doctors to examine breast tissue one layer at a time.

The company also offers a range of screening and diagnostic capabilities in the areas of prenatal and gynecological health, osteoporosis detection and treatment, and gynecological surgery technologies.

A report on Reuters says the company "has been struggling with cuts in hospital spending, a lack of reimbursement for one of its mammography systems, and its troubled $3.75 billion acquisition and integration of Gen-Probe Inc."

Hologic says it has more than 5500 employees and operations in more than 40 countries. Its common stock is traded on the  NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol HOLX.

Stephen Levy is a contributor to Qmed and MPMN.