BRISTOL, Tenn., May 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- King Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. (NYSE: KG) reported today that the Company's Board of Directors has
appointed Brian A. Markison as King's acting President and Chief Executive
Officer and elected Ted G. Wood as non-executive Chairman.
Brian A. Markison, acting President and Chief Executive Officer of King,
stated, "I am very pleased to accept this excellent opportunity. As we begin a
new chapter in the history of King Pharmaceuticals, we will focus on more
fully establishing this Company as a premier marketing and sales organization
in primary care and other specialty markets. To accomplish this goal, we plan
to leverage our large sales force, experienced management, exceptional branded
pharmaceuticals, and a growing pipeline of promising products. Moreover, with
our tremendous cash flow, a strong balance sheet, and a business model that
enables opportunities to drive our strategy, we are focusing more intently on
the acquisition and in-licensing of additional promising products in
development. Accordingly, we believe that King is well positioned to continue
our track record of growth."
Ted G. Wood, Chairman of King, stated, "I am indeed honored that my
colleagues on King's Board of Directors have chosen to elect me as Chairman of
this great Company. As I take on this responsibility, I am pleased with our
announcement of the appointment of Brian A. Markison as our Company's acting
President and Chief Executive Officer. With his tremendous level of experience
in our industry, having worked in a wide variety of key executive management
positions with one of the world's top pharmaceutical companies, we believe
that Brian is uniquely suited to assume the day-to-day executive management
responsibilities at King." Mr. Wood added, "We have great confidence in our
ability to work effectively with Brian to successfully execute our strategies
for growth as we more fully leverage the superb foundation and capabilities
that our Company has worked hard to establish since King's inception ten years
ago."
Mr. Markison has distinguished himself for over 22 years in a variety of
strategic, sales, marketing, international, and domestic general management
positions within Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Prior to joining King as its
Chief Operating Officer on March 8, 2004, he served as President of Bristol-
Myers Squibb's Oncology, Virology and Oncology Therapeutics Network
businesses. Mr. Markison also led the successful integration of Bristol-Myers
Squibb's $7.8 billion acquisition of the DuPont Pharmaceuticals Company in
2001 along with many other successful milestones in corporate development.
Mr. Wood, is the former President of The United Company in Bristol,
Virginia, the position from which he retired in 2002. Prior to joining United,
Mr. Wood was President of KV Pharmaceuticals in St. Louis, Missouri from 1993
to 1994. Mr. Wood was President of Boehringer Mannheim Pharmaceutical
Corporation in Rockville, Maryland from 1992 to 1993, and was employed by
SmithKline Beecham Corporation from 1975 to 1991, where he served as President
of Beecham Laboratories from 1988 to 1989 and Executive Vice President of
SmithKline from 1990 to 1991. Mr. Wood graduated from the University of
Kentucky with a B.S. in Commerce in 1960 and completed the Advanced Management
Program at Harvard University in 1986.
The appointment of Mr. Markison and election of Mr. Wood fills the
vacancies created by the resignation of Jefferson J. Gregory from his
positions as Chief Executive Officer and as Chairman and a member of the
Company's Board of Directors and the resignation of Kyle P. Macione from his
position as President. Mr. Wood commented, "We wish to thank Jeff Gregory and
Kyle Macione for their years of service to this Company, as they were each
instrumental in the successful development and growth of King Pharmaceuticals.
We wish each of them success in all of their future endeavors."
About King Pharmaceuticals
King, headquartered in Bristol, Tennessee, is a vertically integrated
branded pharmaceutical company. King, an S&P 500 Index company, seeks to
capitalize on opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry through the
development, including through in-licensing arrangements and acquisitions, of
novel branded prescription pharmaceutical products in attractive markets and
the strategic acquisition of branded products that can benefit from focused
promotion and marketing and product life-cycle management.
Forward-looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements, which reflect
management's current views of future events and operations, including, but not
limited to, statements pertaining to the Company's plan to focus on more fully
establishing King as a premier marketing and sales organization in primary
care and other specialty markets; statements pertaining to the potential
acquisition and in-licensing of products in development; and statements
pertaining to the continued successful execution of the Company's growth
strategies and potential for growth. These forward-looking statements involve
certain significant risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ
materially from the forward-looking statements. Some important factors which
may cause results to differ include dependence on King's and Wyeth
Pharmaceuticals' ability to successfully market Altace(R) under the co-
promotion agreement between King and Wyeth; dependence on the development and
implementation of successful marketing strategies for Altace(R) by King and
Wyeth; dependence on growth of net sales of King's branded pharmaceutical
products, particularly Altace(R), Skelaxin(R), Levoxyl(R), Sonata(R), and
Thrombin-JMI(R); dependence on the successful marketing and sales of
King's products, including, but not limited to, Altace(R), Skelaxin(R),
Levoxyl(R), and Sonata(R); dependence on royalty revenues from Adenoscan(R)
and Adenocard(R); dependence on King's ability to reposition Sonata(R) in the
insomnia marketplace and expanded upon its opportunities in that market with
an extended release formulation of Sonata(R); dependence on management of
King's growth and integration of its acquisitions; dependence on the extent to
which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and the Office of
the Inspector General ("OIG") and other governmental agencies concur with
King's best estimate of the extent to which it underpaid amounts due under
Medicaid and other governmental pricing programs and King's determination of
the reasons for such underpayments; dependence on any determination or final
outcome arising out of the previously announced investigations of the Company
by the SEC and OIG; dependence on whether King is able to prevail in pending
shareholder securities litigation; dependence on whether any governmental
sanctions are imposed due to King's underpayment of amounts due under Medicaid
and other governmental pricing programs; dependence on the possibility that
regulatory authorities may initiate proceedings against King and/or its
officers and directors; dependence on King's ability to continue to acquire
branded products, including products in development; dependence on the high
cost and uncertainty of research, clinical trials, and other development
activities involving pharmaceutical products, including, but not limited to,
King Pharmaceuticals Research and Development's pre-clinical and clinical
pharmaceutical product development projects, including binodenoson, T-62, and
MRE0094; dependence on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's ("FDA")
approval of King's supplemental New Drug Application ("sNDA") for Intal(R)
HFA; dependence on Novavax's ability to successfully manufacture
Estrasorb(TM); dependence on King's and Novavax's ability to successfully
launch and market Estrasorb(TM) as planned; dependence on King's and Elan's
ability to successfully develop new formulations of Sonata(R) and Skelaxin(R);
dependence on the unpredictability of the duration and results of the FDA's
review of Investigational New Drug Applications ("IND"), New Drug Applications
("NDA"), sNDAs, and Abbreviated New Drug Applications ("ANDA") and/or the
review of other regulatory agencies worldwide; dependence on King's ability to
maintain effective patent protection for Altace(R) through October 2008, and
successfully defend against any attempt to challenge the enforceability of
patents relating to the product; dependence on King's ability to successfully
defend against any potential or ongoing attempt to challenge the
enforceability of the patent related to Levoxyl(R); dependence on King's
ability to timely obtain and, if issued, maintain additional effective patent
protection for Levoxyl(R); dependence on King's ability to obtain additional
patents related to an extended release formulation of Sonata(R); dependence on
King's ability to maintain effective patent protection for Sonata(R) and
Skelaxin(R), including new formulations of such products, and successfully
defend against any attempt to challenge the enforceability of patents relating
to the products; dependence on the ability of the Company's dedicated field
sales force representatives to successfully market King's branded
pharmaceutical products; dependence on whether our customers order
pharmaceutical products in excess of normal quantities during any quarter
which could cause our sales of branded pharmaceutical products to be lower in
a subsequent quarter than they would otherwise have been; dependence on the
extent to which Inventory Management Agreements facilitate enhanced management
of wholesale channel inventories of our products going forward; dependence on
changes in the share price of Novavax common stock which is the underlying
collateral for the Novavax convertible notes held by the Company; dependence
on King's ability to continue to successfully execute the Company's proven
growth strategies and to continue to capitalize on strategic opportunities in
the future for sustained long-term growth; dependence on the availability and
cost of raw materials; dependence on no material interruptions in supply by
contract manufacturers of King's products; dependence on the potential effect
on sales of our existing branded pharmaceutical products as a result of the
potential development and approval of a generic substitute for any such
product or other new competitive products; dependence on the potential effect
of future acquisitions and other transactions pursuant to our growth
strategies on King's financial and other projections; dependence on our
compliance with FDA and other government regulations that relate to our
business; and dependence on changes in general economic and business
conditions; changes in current pricing levels; changes in federal and state
laws and regulations; and manufacturing capacity constraints. Other important
factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-
looking statements are discussed in the "Risk Factors" section and other
sections of King's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003 and
Form 10-Q for the first quarter ended March 31, 2004, which are on file with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. King does not undertake to
publicly update or revise any of its forward-looking statements even if
experience or future changes show that the indicated results or events will
not be realized.
Contact:
James E. Green, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs
423-989-8125
SOURCE King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.kingpharm.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/120319.html
CONTACT:
James E. Green, Executive Vice President,
Corporate Affairs of King Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-423-989-8125
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