December 13, 2016
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Three top executives for Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International are leaving the company, Valeant announced yesterday. It also announced that William Humphries has been appointed executive vice president, Dermatology, effective January 2, 2017.
Anne Whitaker, executive vice president and company group chairman is leaving the company on January 13, 2017. Whitaker held the position since May 2015. Prior to that position, she was president and chief executive officer and board member of Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. Before joining Synta, Whitaker was president, North American Pharmaceuticals, for Sanofi .
Rob Rosiello is also leaving Valeant on December 31, 2016. From July 2015 through August 2016, Rosiello was the company’s chief financial officer, which is now being taken by Paul Herendeen. In August, Rosiello was appointed executive vice president, Corporate Development and Strategy. Prior to joining Valeant, he spent 30 years at McKinsey & Company, assisting healthcare technology and consumer companies.
In addition, Ari Kellen, Valeant’s executive vice president and company group chairman is leaving on December 31. Kellen joined the company in January 2014, and was responsible for the U.S. Bausch + Lomb businesses. Prior to joining Valeant, he spent 22 years with McKinsey & Company, leading growth and turnaround strategies for medical device, pharmaceutical and healthcare services clients.
Both Kellen and Rosiello will act as consultants for Valeant. “I sincerely thank Anne, Rob, and Ari for their contributions to Valeant and appreciate their efforts to stabilize the Company during a period of transition,” said Joseph Papa, Valeant’s chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement. “We wish them well in the future.”
Humphries was the chief executive officer of Merz North America since March 2012, where he headed three North American companies: Merz Pharmaceuticals, Merz Aesthetics, and Merz Pharma Canada. Before Merz, Humphries was president of Stiefel, where he headed two major acquisitions and spearheaded the global integration of Stiefel into GlaxoSmithKline .
“We are pleased to welcome another experienced leader to our team,” said Papa, in a statement. “Bill has an unparalleled understanding of the dermatology and aesthetics space and a proven track record of successfully developing and commercializing products in these therapeutics areas. We look forward to his contributions as we continue working toward a recovery of our core prescription dermatology business.”
Humphries, in a statement, said, “Valeant’s dermatology business has an underappreciated innovative pipeline, an unrivaled and robust product portfolio and great brands with a significant amount of untapped potential. Valeant also has a tremendous commercial team and I look forward to working with them to reinvigorate the business and demonstrate value for physicians and patients.”
Valeant has had a tough several years. In addition to numerous scandals, it is $31 billion in debt. Over the last year it has been trying to sell off some of its assets to help pay down those debts. Most recently the company was reportedly in talks to sell off its Salix gastrointestinal drugs business.
Valeant’s former chief executive, J. Michael Pearson, and former chief financial officer, Howard Schiller, may be facing a criminal investigation by U.S. prosecutors. This investigation is looking at possible accounting fraud related to Valeant’s connections to now closed specialty pharmacy company, Philidor Rx Services.
