InterMune Announces Executive Management Changes
Thursday September 25, 8:12 am ET
- Daniel G. Welch to Lead Company as President and CEO -
- W. Scott Harkonen Resigns From Board of Directors -
BRISBANE, Calif. Sept. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- InterMune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ITMN - News) announced today that Daniel G. Welch has been appointed by the Company's Board of Directors as a member of the Board of Directors and to the positions of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President, effective September 25, 2003. Mr. Welch succeeds interim Chief Executive Officer, William R. Ringo, who will remain as the Chairman of the Board.
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"Dan's senior-level commercial, business development and operations management expertise in specialty and global pharmaceutical businesses make him the ideal person to lead InterMune's efforts to build a strong and independent biopharmaceutical business," said Mr. Ringo. "His extensive pharmaceutical industry experience and outstanding management credentials will be key in advancing our promising clinical pipeline and commercializing our existing products."
Most recently, Mr. Welch was Chairman and CEO of Triangle Pharmaceuticals, a public company engaged in the development and marketing of antivirals for HIV and hepatitis B. Prior to joining Triangle, Mr. Welch was President of the pharmaceutical division of Elan Corporation. During his tenure at Elan he was responsible for U.S. commercial operations, the international subsidiaries, the R&D function and the diagnostics businesses. Mr. Welch joined Elan following thirteen years in senior management roles at Sanofi-Synthelabo and its predecessor companies Sanofi and Sterling Winthrop. As the Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Sanofi, he led the launches of the blockbuster drugs Plavix® and Avapro® for cardiovascular indications and Eloxatin® for cancer. In addition, during his time at Sanofi, he led development and commercial collaborations with several major pharmaceutical companies including Bristol Myers Squibb, Organon and Eli Lilly and Company. Prior to joining Sanofi Synthelabo, Mr. Welch was with American Critical Care, a division of American Hospital Supply. He holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina and a BBA from the University of Miami.
"InterMune is well positioned for future growth with three marketed products and a pipeline of promising therapies that address major unmet medical needs and represent important commercial opportunities," said Mr. Welch. "I look forward to working with the executive team to deliver value to our shareholders by executing on a focused business strategy through the achievement of our clinical development, commercial and financial objectives."
The company also announced that concurrent with Mr. Welch's appointment, Scott Harkonen, M.D., the Company's founder and former Chairman of the Board, CEO and President has resigned from the Board of Directors and agreed to become a consultant to the Company. |
