Sepracor Announces Senior Management Changes
Thursday March 1, 5:08 pm ET
[O'Shea kicked upstairs to a board position (?). Vice chairman - that's not an operational position, or is it? Should this be seen as a reaction to sluggish sales? Adams appears to be a well-qualified person]
MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sepracor Inc. (Nasdaq: SEPR - News) today announced that Adrian Adams has been appointed President and Chief Operating Officer and W. James O'Shea has been appointed to the newly-created position of Vice Chairman of the Company.
Mr. Adams was President and Chief Executive Officer of Kos Pharmaceuticals from 2002 until the acquisition of the company by Abbott Laboratories in December 2006 for $3.7 billion. During his tenure he increased revenues ten-fold and led the transformation of Kos into a fully integrated and profitable pharmaceutical company with annual revenues approaching one billion dollars and strong positions in the cardiovascular and respiratory disease areas. Mr. Adams has over 30 years of experience in both specialty and large pharmaceutical organizations that, in addition to Kos, included careers with ICI, SmithKline Beecham and Novartis, and involved work and product launches in most therapeutic areas. Mr. Adams has a broad background encompassing research and development, sales, international and national product marketing, business development and extensive general management experience.
"I welcome Adrian to the Sepracor organization," said Timothy J. Barberich, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Adrian brings with him a wealth of strategic and operating experience to Sepracor. We believe his energy, leadership and vision will be critical to the continued growth of the Company. I am looking forward to working closely with Adrian and his appointment is a key element of our phased leadership succession plan. We currently expect that Adrian will be named Chief Executive Officer within six months. I plan to continue to serve as Chairman of the Board."
"I'm excited to be joining Sepracor at this pivotal stage in the Company's evolution," said Mr. Adams. "I believe Sepracor is well positioned to not only leverage its highly differentiated existing franchises, but also to capitalize on its extensive research and development portfolio in depression and other central nervous system disorders while also aggressively pursuing innovative and value-enhancing corporate development and licensing initiatives."
"I would like to thank Jim O'Shea for his contribution," said Mr. Barberich. "Sepracor today is one of the few companies outside of large pharmaceutical companies that has demonstrated the ability to discover and develop its own products and market them directly to primary care physicians. Over the past seven years, Jim has clearly been the person most responsible for building the commercial infrastructure of the Company, which has resulted in the success of two major franchises, XOPENEX® brand levalbuterol and LUNESTA® brand eszopiclone. Over the next six months, in his role as Vice Chairman, Jim will be responsible for ensuring a smooth transition of leadership to Adrian."
Separately, the Company's board has elected Andrew Koven to the newly-created position of Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, effective as of the first date of his employment. Mr. Koven held a similar position at Kos Pharmaceuticals from 2003 to 2007. Prior to Kos, he was Assistant General Counsel of both the Pharmaceutical and Consumer Health divisions of Warner Lambert, and earlier worked with Cahill, Gordon and Reindel in New York. Douglas E. Reedich, Senior Vice President, Legal Affairs, plans to leave Sepracor but will remain with the Company for a period to ensure an orderly transition in the handling of the Company's legal matters. |
