Dr. Joost Louwagie

Member of the Leadership Team and responsible for the identification of new diagnostic opportunities within and outside Novartis; driving the expansion of the portfolio of Point of Care tests. Providing leadership and project management support for such new opportunities in collaboration with the relevant functions within Novartis.

In this position I'm leading "In Vitro Diagnostic" (IVD) programs, applying scientific, regulatory, and management expertise to address complex program issues. Interfacing with strategic marketing, product development technical functions, QA, RA, QC, manufacturing, I'm responsible for the design and development of novel medical instrumentation systems in partnership with external engineering firms and develop long-term strategies for Novartis instrumentation technology in the Point of Care setting.

As Global Program Diagnostic Director I lead all aspects of a companion diagnostic program with a predominant focus on ensuring regulatory approval, technical market access and optimized commercial value. This involved responsibilities for deliverables, quality, time and costs for the program(s). As a member of the Global Project Drug Development team, I was responsible for the development of two companion diagnostic products used in several phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials.

Responsible for scientific aspects of private and academic product development collaborations. As a member of management team, I coordinated "In Vitro Diagnostic" product development activities in the companion diagnostics field, resulting in successful development of technologies and products. I was successfully applied for several major grants and coordinated the execution and reporting of the resulting projects.

As "Program Manager Infectious Disease" franchise as well as "Product Development Manager" my group as project teams were responsible for the development of several products on the platforms INNO-LiPA, INNOTEST, Auto-LIA, Auto-LiPA and LiRAS.