Dr. Sol J. Barer Named Chairman of the Board
JERUSALEM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 6, 2017--
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE:TEVA) today announced
that Dr. Yitzhak Peterburg, who has served as Chairman of the Teva Board
of Directors since January 2015, has been appointed Interim President
and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. This follows the
mutual agreement between the Board of Teva and Erez Vigodman that Mr.
Vigodman is stepping down. Mr. Vigodman’s service on the Teva Board of
Directors has also ended.
In accordance with the Israeli Companies Law, Dr. Yitzhak Peterburg has
stepped down from his role as Chairman in order to serve as Interim
Chief Executive Officer. Prior to rejoining Teva’s Board of Directors in
2012, Dr. Peterburg led the Company’s innovative R&D efforts as Teva’s
Group Vice President, Global Branded Products, from October 2010 until
October 2011, after serving on Teva’s Board of Directors from 2009 until
July 2010. Previously, he served as President and CEO of Cellcom Israel
Ltd. from 2003 to 2005, Director General of Clalit Health Services, the
leading healthcare provider in Israel, from 1997 to 2002 and CEO of
Soroka University Medical Center, Beer-Sheva, from 1995 to 1997.
The Board has elected Dr. Sol J. Barer, who has been a member of the
Teva Board since January 2015, as Chairman. Dr. Barer brings deep
knowledge of the global pharmaceutical industry. He was a founder of the
biotechnology group at Celanese Corporation, later spun off as Celgene
Corporation, where he served in top leadership roles from 1987 to 2011,
including as Chairman and CEO from 2007 to 2010.
The Company's Board of Directors is undertaking a search to identify a
permanent Chief Executive Officer with the assistance of a search firm.
“I believe that now is the right time for me to step down,” said Mr.
Vigodman. “It has been a privilege to lead Teva, and I am proud of all
we have accomplished. I am confident that the Company’s future is
bright.”
Dr. Yitzhak Peterburg said, “The Company is focusing on executing its
strategic priorities to transform Teva, with immediate focus on
realizing the cost synergies and strategic benefits of the Actavis
Generics acquisition. I look forward to working with the entire Teva
team to conduct a thorough review of the business to find additional
opportunities to enhance value for shareholders. Teva has a deep bench
of talented leaders and today’s announcement has no impact on our
ability to execute going forward. With the strength of our generics
pipeline, unique R&D capabilities and unparalleled footprint, coupled
with our existing assets and growing pipeline in specialty medicines, I
believe in Teva and the Company’s long-term growth prospects.”
Dr. Barer said, “We are grateful to Yitzhak for taking on the role of
interim CEO. Teva’s Board of Directors, with its decades of collective
pharmaceutical industry experience, will continue to play an active role
in driving the Company’s strategy, and I look forward to working with
the management team to execute on the value creation opportunities
ahead. We intend to conduct a comprehensive search to identify the best
person to lead the Company for years to come. On behalf of the Board, I
want to thank Erez for his many contributions to Teva over the years and
wish him well in the future.”
2016 Financial Results
As previously announced, Teva will release its fourth quarter 2016
financial results on Monday, February 13, 2017 at 7:00 a.m. ET.
About Dr. Yitzhak Peterburg
Dr. Yitzhak Peterburg became Teva’s Chairman of the Board of Directors
on January 1, 2015, after rejoining Teva’s Board of Directors in 2012.
Dr. Peterburg was Teva’s Group Vice President, Global Branded Products
from October 2010 until October 2011, after serving on Teva’s Board of
Directors from 2009 until July 2010.
Previously, he served as President and CEO of Cellcom Israel Ltd. from
2003 to 2005, Director General of Clalit Health Services, the leading
healthcare provider in Israel, from 1997 to 2002 and CEO of Soroka
University Medical Center, Beer-Sheva, from 1995 to 1997. Dr. Peterburg
currently serves as a director on the board of Rosetta Genomics Ltd. and
is also the Chairman of Regenera Pharma Ltd, a phase 3 clinical-stage
pharmaceutical startup company.
Dr. Peterburg received an M.D. degree from Hadassah Medical School in
1977 and is board-certified in Pediatrics and Health Services
Management. Dr. Peterburg received a doctoral degree in Health
Administration from Columbia University in 1987 and an M.Sc. degree in
Information Systems from the London School of Economics in 1990. Dr.
Peterburg is a professor at the School of Business, Ben-Gurion
University. With his experience as a leader in Israeli healthcare and as
a former executive officer of Teva, expertise in health information
technology and knowledge transfer within large-scale, fragmented
networks, as well as his leadership of large Israeli companies, Dr.
Peterburg provides healthcare, management and operational expertise as
well as knowledge about Teva and its global operations.
About Dr. Sol J. Barer
Dr. Sol J. Barer joined Teva’s Board of Directors in January 2015.
Dr. Barer spent most of his professional career with the Celgene
Corporation. He was Chairman from January 2011 until June 2011,
Executive Chairman from June 2010 until January 2011 and Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer from May 2006 until June 2010. Previously he was
appointed President in 1993 and Chief Operating Officer in 1994 before
assuming the CEO position. He also served as Senior Vice President,
Science and Technology, and Vice President/General Manager, Chiral
Products, from October 1990 to October 1993, and Vice President,
Technology, from September 1987 to October 1990. Dr. Barer was the
founder of the biotechnology group at the Celanese Research Company
which was subsequently spun out to form Celgene.
Dr. Barer serves as Chairman of the Board of the public companies Edge
Therapeutics, InspireMD and Aevi Genomic Medicine and private company
Centrexion, is Lead Director of ContraFect and is on the Board of
Directors of the public company Amicus Therapeutics. He is a Venture
Advisor to the Israel Biotechnology Fund as well as an advisor to
biopharma companies.
In 2011 Dr. Barer was Chairman of the University of Medicine and
Dentistry of New Jersey Governor’s Advisory Committee which resulted in
sweeping changes in the structure of New Jersey’s medical schools and
public research universities. He previously served as a Commissioner of
the NJ Commission on Science and Technology. He was a member of the
Board of Trustees of Rutgers University (until 2013). He also served two
terms as Chair of the Board of Trustees of BioNJ (2010-2012) the New
Jersey biotechnology organization.
Dr. Barer was named to the “Worldview 100” (Scientific American’s 100
most influential figures in today’s world of biotechnology) in 2015,
named one of “25 Leadership Legends of NJ” (NJBiz) in 2012, “The 50 Most
Powerful People in N.J. Health Care,” in 2012, inducted into the NJBiz
Hall of Fame in 2011 and was named as one of NJ’s top 10 scientists by
New Jersey Business in 2008.
Dr. Barer received a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 1974 from Rutgers
University where he was an NDEA Graduate Fellow and a B.S. in 1968 from
Brooklyn College (City University of New York) where he was an NSF
Undergraduate Fellow and Regents Scholar.
About Teva
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE: TEVA) is a leading
global pharmaceutical company that delivers high-quality,
patient-centric healthcare solutions used by millions of patients every
day. Headquartered in Israel, Teva is the world’s largest generic
medicines producer, leveraging its portfolio of more than 1,000
molecules to produce a wide range of generic products in nearly every
therapeutic area. In specialty medicines, Teva has a world-leading
position in innovative treatments for disorders of the central nervous
system, including pain, as well as a strong portfolio of respiratory
products. Teva integrates its generics and specialty capabilities in its
global research and development division to create new ways of
addressing unmet patient needs by combining drug development
capabilities with devices, services and technologies. Teva's net
revenues in 2015 amounted to $19.7 billion. For more information, visit www.tevapharm.com.
Teva's Safe Harbor Statement under the U. S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are based
on management’s current beliefs and expectations and involve a number of
known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause our future
results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from the
results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause or
contribute to such differences include risks relating to: our ability to
develop and commercialize additional pharmaceutical products;
competition for our specialty products, especially Copaxone® (which
faces competition from orally-administered alternatives and existing and
potential generic versions); our ability to integrate Allergan plc’s
worldwide generic pharmaceuticals business (“Actavis Generics”) and to
realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisition (and the timing of
realizing such benefits); the fact that following the consummation of
the Actavis Generics acquisition, we are dependent to a much larger
extent than previously on our generic pharmaceutical business; potential
restrictions on our ability to engage in additional transactions or
incur additional indebtedness as a result of the substantial amount of
debt incurred to finance the Actavis Generics acquisition; the fact that
for a period of time following the Actavis Generics acquisition, we will
have significantly less cash on hand than previously, which could
adversely affect our ability to grow; the possibility of material fines,
penalties and other sanctions and other adverse consequences arising out
of our ongoing FCPA investigations and related matters; our ability to
achieve expected results from investments in our pipeline of specialty
and other products; our ability to identify and successfully bid for
suitable acquisition targets or licensing opportunities, or to
consummate and integrate acquisitions; the extent to which any
manufacturing or quality control problems damage our reputation for
quality production and require costly remediation; increased government
scrutiny in both the U.S. and Europe of our patent settlement
agreements; our exposure to currency fluctuations and restrictions as
well as credit risks; the effectiveness of our patents, confidentiality
agreements and other measures to protect the intellectual property
rights of our specialty medicines; the effects of reforms in healthcare
regulation and pharmaceutical pricing, reimbursement and coverage;
competition for our generic products, both from other pharmaceutical
companies and as a result of increased governmental pricing pressures;
governmental investigations into sales and marketing practices,
particularly for our specialty pharmaceutical products; adverse effects
of political or economic instability, major hostilities or acts of
terrorism on our significant worldwide operations; interruptions in our
supply chain or problems with internal or third-party information
technology systems that adversely affect our complex manufacturing
processes; significant disruptions of our information technology systems
or breaches of our data security; competition for our specialty
pharmaceutical businesses from companies with greater resources and
capabilities; the impact of continuing consolidation of our distributors
and customers; decreased opportunities to obtain U.S. market exclusivity
for significant new generic products; potential liability in the U.S.,
Europe and other markets for sales of generic products prior to a final
resolution of outstanding patent litigation; our potential exposure to
product liability claims that are not covered by insurance; any failure
to recruit or retain key personnel, or to attract additional executive
and managerial talent; any failures to comply with complex Medicare and
Medicaid reporting and payment obligations; significant impairment
charges relating to intangible assets, goodwill and property, plant and
equipment; the effects of increased leverage and our resulting reliance
on access to the capital markets; potentially significant increases in
tax liabilities; the effect on our overall effective tax rate of the
termination or expiration of governmental programs or tax benefits, or
of a change in our business; variations in patent laws that may
adversely affect our ability to manufacture our products in the most
efficient manner; environmental risks; and other factors that are
discussed in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December
31, 2015 and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “SEC”).
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are
made and we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements or other information contained herein, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised, however,
to consult any additional disclosures we make in our reports to the SEC
on Form 6-K. Also note that we provide a cautionary discussion of risks
and uncertainties under “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 20-F
for the year ended December 31, 2015. These are factors that we believe
could cause our actual results to differ materially from expected
results. Other factors besides those listed could also adversely affect
us. This discussion is provided as permitted by the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
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Source: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
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