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BUSINESS A25
Thursday 7 January 2016

Valeant Pharmaceuticals names Howard Schiller interim CEO

This photo shows the head office and logo of Valeant Pharmaceuticals in Montreal. Valeant would take over leadership ant in 2008 after a 23-year
Pharmaceuticals announced Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, that they’ve named former finance chief in his absence. The compa- career with the consulting
Howard Schiller as interim CEO of the troubled pharmaceutical company, while current CEO J. ny had named Schiller and firm McKinsey & Co., for
Michael Pearson recovers from severe pneumonia. Ingram to a board-created which he served as head of
committee charged with its global pharmaceutical
(Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press/AP) overseeing and supporting practice.
the CEO position. He helped build a relatively
TOM MURPHY with severe pneumonia. dent director, will serve as Schiller served as the com- small business that made
Valeant said Tuesday that interim board chairman. pany’s chief financial of- generic drugs and chronic
AP Business Writer J. Michael Pearson is still on Valeant, based in Laval, ficer from the end of 2011 illness treatments into a ma-
medical leave, and it did Quebec, announced Pear- through June 2015 and is jor pharmaceutical com-
Valeant Pharmaceuti- not know when he would son’s hospitalization late currently a member of the pany through a string of
return. Schiller will become last month. It then said last company’s board. acquisitions. Valeant, for-
cals has named former fi- interim CEO immediately week that three execu- Before Valeant, Schiller merly based in California,
and Robert Ingram, the tives, a group that did not spent 24 years at the invest- combined with Wellbutrin
nance chief Howard Schil- company’s lead indepen- include Schiller or Ingram, ment banking firm Gold- XL maker Biovail in 2010 to
man Sachs. He served as a form Valeant Pharmaceu-
ler as interim CEO while the chief operating officer and ticals International Inc. Its
was responsible for health sales climbed from $2.46
troubled drug company’s care and consumer prod- billion in 2011 to an expect-
ucts, among other busi- ed $10.4 billion to $10.5 bil-
chairman and chief execu- nesses in the company’s in- lion for this year.
vestment banking division. Valeant has taken criti-
tive remains hospitalized Ingram has been on Vale- cism for its practice of buy-
ant’s board since 2010 and ing other pharmaceutical
previously served as chair- companies, slashing jobs
man for a few months at and then hiking the price
the start of 2011. Valeant’s of the drugs it acquires.
interim chairman is a part- Congress, in particular,
ner at the venture capital has targeted the Canadi-
firm Hatteras Venture Part- an drugmaker, which also
ners and also serves as a has received multiple sub-
special adviser to the CEO poenas from federal pros-
of British drugmaker Glaxo- ecutors seeking information
SmithKline Plc. about drug pricing, a topic
Pearson, 56, joined Vale- of growing concern to U.S.
patients and politicians. q

Monsanto eliminating another 1,000 more jobs to cut costs

M. PERRONE Its shares fell more than 2 This photo shows the Monsanto logo at the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Ill. Monsanto on
Associated Press percent in afternoon trad- Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, said it swung to a $253-million loss in the first fiscal quarter, amid foreign
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mon- ing Wednesday. currency pressures and falling sales of its biotech-enhanced corn seeds.
santo said Wednesday it Monsanto has struggled
will eliminate another 1,000 in recent quarters to deal (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
jobs as it expands a cost- with slumping corn prices
cutting plan designed to in the U.S., which have re- neered traits, such as pro- The company, which also estimated 18 percent of
deal with falling sales of duced demand for its best- tection against insects and sells herbicide, has domi- the $44 billion global seed
biotech-corn seeds and selling product: genetical- disease, which help farmers nated the bioengineered- market, according to Ed-
other financial headwinds. ly-enhanced corn seeds. increase their crop yield, seed business for more than ward Jones analyst Matt
The additional layoffs will Farmers are shifting more despite their higher prices. a decade and controls an Arnold.q
bring the agriculture gi- acres to other crops after
ant’s total planned cuts to surpluses of corn, wheat
3,600 jobs over the next two and others have squashed
years, or about 16 percent commodity prices.
of its global workforce. In The agriculture products
October the company first company posted a 23 per-
announced the restruc- cent decline in revenue to
turing plan, intended to $2.22 billion in the period,
streamline its sales, R&D short of Street forecasts.
and other operations. Three analysts surveyed by
The St. Louis-based com- Zacks expected $2.55 bil-
pany says the restructuring lion.
will cost between $1.1 bil- In the most recent quarter
lion and $1.2 billion to im- corn seed sales fell nearly
plement, up from previous 20 percent to $745 million.
estimates of $850 million to Those results were partially
$900 million. By the end of offset by higher soybean
fiscal 2018, the company sales, which grew 10 per-
expects the changes to cent to $438 million.
generate annual savings of Monsanto’s biotech seeds
$500 million. have genetically engi-