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Valeant Losing Tyson Recruit to Canadian Drug Maker

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is losing one of its key people with what analysts have called “real world pharmaceutical experience.”

Wesley Wheeler, president of North America and research and development,and a key recruit of Chief Executive Timothy Tyson,is leaving the Aliso Viejo drug maker to become head of Patheon Inc. of Canada.

Wheeler’s set to become Ottawa-based Patheon’s chief executive next week.

He replaces Riccardo Trecroce, who was named Patheon’s interim chief executive in 2006 and appointed to the post for an indefinite period in March.

Wheeler, a 29-year drug industry veteran, had been with Valeant since early 2003. He came to the drug maker, then called ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc., from Greenville, N.C.’s DSM Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Wheeler, like Tyson and several other Valeant executives, earlier worked for GlaxoSmithKline PLC. He served as that company’s senior vice president of logistics and strategy.

Patheon has 14 facilities in the U.S., Canada and Europe and 5,100 workers. It is a contract maker of products for other drug makers and has more than 250 drug and biotechnology clients.

Wheeler’s move comes as Valeant is wrestling with growth issues.

Last month, Valeant said it would sell Infergen, a hepatitis C drug that it paid $113.5 million for last year from InterMune Inc. of the Bay area. Amgen Inc., the Thousand Oaks-based biotech company, originally developed Infergen.

Valeant continues to rely on steady products from its ICN days. But some analysts say the company needs a blockbuster drug to spur growth.

In a recent interview, Tyson said he is looking to retigabine, an epilepsy drug that’s in clinical trials, to fire up growth.

Valeant gained retigabine in 2005’s $280 million deal for Xcel Pharmaceuticals Inc. of San Diego.

“Retigabine, assuming positive clinical results, could provide significant revenues once approved and marketed,” Tyson said.

Valeant said last week that it completed enrolling patients in a second third-phase clinical trial for retigabine. The drug maker, in a statement, said it enrolled 539 patients in the trial, which is being done at 69 sites across the U.S., Europe, Australia, Israel and South Africa. A current third-phase trial is going on in 49 sites in the U.S. and four other areas, including Canada.

Valeant said it expected the trials to conclude in the second quarter and file regulatory applications in the U.S. and Europe with an anticipated launch date of 2009 for the drug.


Meier’s New Title






Randy Meier: singled out as Advanced Medical’s successor

Advanced Medical Optics Inc., a Santa Ana-based maker of eye surgery devices and contact lens solutions, has named a clear No. 2 to Chief Executive James Mazzo.

Randy Meier, the company’s 48-year-old chief operating officer, has taken on the additional title of president. Mazzo, Advanced Medical’s only leader since its 2002 spinoff from Irvine’s Allergan Inc., previously held the president’s title.

“Randy has assumed increasingly broad leadership roles since our spinoff,” said Mazzo, who is 50.

Meier joined Advanced Medical in 2002 from what now is Valeant Pharmaceuticals. He previously served as Advanced Medical’s chief financial officer.

Allergan Chief Executive David Pyott, a former Advanced Medical director, called Meier Mazzo’s “key lieutenant” in a 2006 Business Journal interview.


Beckman Buys Business

Beckman Coulter Inc., the Fullerton maker of medical testing instruments, said late last month it’s buying a business of Dako Denmark AS.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

Beckman’s buying Dako’s flow cytometry instrumentation business, which is used by researchers to examine and sort microscopic cells suspended in blood or other fluid.

Flow cytometry is used in medical research and in diagnosing diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma and HIV.

The buy adds a flow cytometer and a cell sorter to Beckman’s product lineup, Chief Executive Scott Garrett said in a release.

Dako’s flow cytometry business is based in Fort Collins, Colo. Some 200 workers are set to transfer to Beckman in the buy, which is expected to close by the end of the year.


Watson Names Executive

Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc., a drug maker run by Anaheim Hills resident Allen Chao, named Mark Durand as senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Durand, 48, was previously chief financial officer at Teva Pharmaceuticals North America, a business that encompasses the former Sicor Inc. plant in Irvine. Durand takes the position left by Charles Slacik, who left the Corona-based drug maker in October 2006 to become Beckman’s chief financial officer.

R. Todd Joyce, Watson’s vice president, corporate controller and principal accounting officer, had served as interim principal financial officer.


Bits and Pieces:

Nationwide Health Properties Inc., a Newport Beach company that owns healthcare facilities and leases them out to operating companies, recently got a “hold” rating from Deutsche Bank, which started covering the company. Analyst Kristin Brown wrote that given Nationwide’s 23% stock rise since August, investors should wait for a better entry point Irvine’s Endologix Inc. reported favorable clinical data concerning its Powerlink device for treating aortic abdominal aneurysms at the Veith symposium in New York. In one study, a German researcher said Powerlink’s design characteristics made it superior for treating patients with aneurysms deemed unsuitable for other stent grafts. Another showed that the device could be used with larger commercially available accessories TriZetto Group Inc., a Newport Beach healthcare information technology company, said Fidelis Care, a Catholic health plan that covers the state of New York, selected its Clinical CareAdvance product for disease management, case management and utilization management. Fidelis has some 340,000 members.

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