Oxford Nanopore Appoints Francis Van Parys As Chief Executive Officer

He will succeed Gordon Sanghera, who has led the molecular sensing technology company since its founding in 2005.

Van Parys brings over 20 years of experience in life sciences leadership. He currently serves as President and CEO of Radiometer, a global acute care diagnostics company under Danaher Corporation. His previous roles at Cytiva and GE Healthcare spanned Europe, Asia, and North America.

Sanghera will step down from the board when Van Parys assumes the CEO position but will remain in an advisory role until early 2027 to ensure a smooth transition.

Duncan Tatton-Brown Chair of Oxford Nanopore, stated that Van Parys’ "global life sciences leadership and deep regulatory expertise, combined with a proven ability to scale innovation-driven businesses" made him suitable to lead the company’s next growth phase. The appointment followed a comprehensive succession process led by the Nomination Committee with an independent search firm.

Van Parys expressed excitement about joining Oxford Nanopore highlighting the company’s “differentiated sensing platform and expanding global customer base” and noting “a substantial market opportunity ahead.”

Sanghera, who has led the company for nearly 20 years, called his tenure “an extraordinary privilege,” having grown the business from a concept into a company that “created a new category of multi-omic analysis.”

Oxford Nanopore Technologies develops and commercializes molecular sensing technology based on nanopores, according to the company’s press release.

Gordon Sanghera, CEO of Oxford Nanopore, added: “Leading Oxford Nanopore for more than two decades has been an extraordinary privilege. From an idea that single-molecule sensing could be done differently, we’ve built a company that created a new category of multi-omic analysis. I’m confident Francis will build on the strong foundations of innovation and growth to lead Oxford Nanopore to even greater success.”

About Oxford Nanopore Technologies

Oxford Nanopore Technologies develops nanopore-based sensing technology to enable real-time, high-performance analysis of DNA and RNA anywhere, by anyone. Used in over 125 countries, its platform advances research in humans, animals, plants, bacteria, and viruses, offering transformative insights across healthcare, food, agriculture and disease understanding, including cancer.