Lunesta Chief Marketer Makes a Move
December 07, 2006
By Jim Edwards
NEW YORK -- Timothy Healey, the chief marketer on Sepracor’s Lunesta sleep drug and a 2006 Brandweek Marketer of the Year, has left the company to become svp of commercial operations at Advanced Magnetics in Cambridge, Mass.
His last day at Sepracor was last week.
Advanced Magnetics develops therapeutic iron compounds to treat anemia, as well as new agents that aid MRI scans.
At Marlborough, Mass.-based Sepracor, Healey oversaw the launch of Lunesta, which went on to become the No. 2 sleep drug in the U.S. after Sanofi-Aventis’ Ambien. The drug has made over $600 million in sales since its launch and the Lunesta ad budget has topped $200 million annually, the largest single drug-brand budget in the country.
Sources said no decision had been made regarding his replacement, although there is one obvious internal possibility: Jay Popli, Sepracor’s Lunesta’s marketing director, who was named with Healey as a Brandweek Marketer of Year in October.
“Tim is the first of several key hires in our effort to successfully launch ferumoxytol,” Advanced Magnetics’ iron replacement drug for kidney disease patients, said Brian J.G. Pereira, president and CEO of Advanced Magnetics, in a statement.
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