Former Teva Generics CEO Siggi Olafsson is back in the copycat game—this time, as new CEO of Jordan’s Hikma Pharmaceuticals.
The company trumpeted the appointment Tuesday, noting that current CEO Said Darwazah would slide over into the executive chairman’s spot. In a statement, Darwazah praised Olafsson’s “deep sector knowledge” and “proven ability to drive growth,” adding that “we are delighted that Siggi is joining Hikma as our new CEO.”
In a major—and unwelcome—surprise to Teva shareholders, Olafsson left his long-held post at the Israeli company in December 2016.
The news stirred up big concerns about the drugmaker’s then-recent $40.5 billion purchase of Allergan’s generics unit. After all, Olafsson had been “a champion” of that deal, Credit Suisse analyst Vamil Divan said at the time.
Turns out that concern was warranted. Pricing pressure mounted on the generics sector, and Teva got hit hard.
Olafsson’s was just the first in a string of executive departures that continued throughout 2017, culminating in a revamped executive structure engineered by new CEO Kåre Schultz. And that revamp eliminated Dipankar Bhattacharjee, Olafsson’s replacement.
Meanwhile, Hikma’s investors celebrated the CEO switch Tuesday, though Jefferies analyst James Vane-Tempest cautioned in a note to clients that “any improvements are likely to be gradual.”
“2018 in our view is still likely to be tough,” he wrote, adding that Hikma “is still challenged by near-term headwinds, and we believe that full-year results on March 14 could disappoint for a number of reasons.”
A couple of those reasons? More competition in generic injectables and the “potential for larger write-downs” at recent buy Roxane Labs.
Investors are also still waiting for word on Hikma’s copy of GlaxoSmithKline respiratory heavyweight Advair after the November news that Hikma and partner Vectura were locked in a dispute with the FDA. An update is expected later this quarter.
By Carly Helfand
Source: Fierce Pharma
“There’s no better place to meet our industry partners in person and get a first-hand feel for the state of the pharma industry than at CPHI,” says Borderless Partner Rosalie Harrison, who leads the firm’s life sciences practice.
On Sep. 25, German biopharma company Boehringer Ingelheim opened its new 11,000 sqm Angelika Amon Research Building at its site in Vienna, Austria. According to Boehringer Ingelheim, the investment of around €60 million is further proof of the company’s commitment to cancer research.
Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) recently announced a $4.5 billion (€4.07 billion) investment to create the Lilly Medicine Foundry, a new center for advanced manufacturing and drug development. The facility will enable Lilly to research new methods of producing medicines and scale up manufacturing for clinical trials.
