Aptuit, Inc. plans to invest an additional $100 million in capital projects to expand capacity, improve operating efficiency, and further align its global operations. This follows the completion of two acquisitions, SSCI and EaglePicher Pharmaceutical Services, adding physical chemistry and API development and manufacturing to Aptuit’s capabilities.
“During the last year, Aptuit has experienced organic revenue growth approaching 20% and enhanced our service offering substantially, in part through the strategic acquisition of new technologies, capabilities and a highly-trained employee base,” said Michael Griffith, chief executive officer of Aptuit. “We now plan to emphasize efforts to integrate operations and services, building a global business from the inside out.”
In conjunction with this investment, the company has made several changes to its senior management team.
Frank J. Wright has assumed the role of vice chairman, responsible for external value creation and global integration activities. He has also been appointed to the company’s board of managers.
Scott L. Houlton has assumed the role of chief operating officer, formerly held by Mr. Wright, with responsibility for scientific operations, business process improvement, human resources, clinical operations and capital development. Mr. Houlton will be responsible for performance management across all Aptuit business lines globally, with a focus on delivering industry leading client service while achieving industry appropriate financial results.
Michael J. Butler, Ph.D., president, scientific operations, will take responsibility for the company’s technology and innovation investment activities, including R&D, the scientific advisory board (SAB), headed by
Stephen R. Byrn, Ph.D., and visioning and implementing capital investments.
Robert G. Burford, Ph.D., managing director, has assumed additional responsibility as chairman of the management committee of Aptuit Consulting, which plans to establish new offices in Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego and Washington, D.C. Dr. Burford will also lead corporate development activities to acquire a consulting business in Europe, and lead a new management committee comprised of
Marc R. Cote,
William D. Kerns, Ph.D.,
David E. Bugay, Ph.D., and
Leslie Patmore, Ph.D. Mr. Cote has been promoted to chief operating officer, Aptuit Consulting.
Other changes and promotions include:
Ann W. Newman, Ph.D. has been promoted to vice president, R&D, and will chair the company’s technology development committee;
Stuart E. Needleman has been promoted to vice president, sales and marketing;
Paul F. Skultety, Ph.D., vice president, scientific development, will join the technology development committee;
Paul E. Kennedy, Ph.D., director, has been named the interim head of Pharmaceutics in Kansas City;
Jane Fraser, Ph.D. has been promoted to senior manager and has been named the interim head of Pharmaceutics in Riccarton;
Charles D. Nardi has been promoted to vice president, Aptuit Informatics;
Vikram Marla, founder of InfoPro Solutions and the inventor of the Clinicopia software suite, has been promoted to chief technology officer of Aptuit Informatics;
John M. Morrison, director, clinical packaging and logistics, has accepted interim management responsibility for all North American clinical packaging operations, reporting to Mr. Houlton;
Panos T. Boudouvas has been named to the new position of director, capital development;
Frank J. Manzella joins the company as director, corporate development; and
Kunal Khattar has been appointed director, corporate development.
Also,
Jon E. Tropsa, co-founder of Aptuit, is transitioning from his role as chief financial officer to a part-time role as vice president, special projects. His current responsibilities will be transitioned to
Peter J. Adamski, chief financial officer.
Pierre Fabre Medicament of France and
Zambon S.p.A. of Italy have successfully executed an agreement, signed February 15, 2007, giving Pierre Fabre commercial rights to Zambon’s product portfolio in Germany.
The strategic partnership involves multiple products, including Panotile Cipro (anti-infective), Fluimicil (mucolytic), Monuril and Lorafem (antibiotics). Also, Pierre Fabre will retain Zambon’s medical sales force in Germany to strengthen its network in the country.
Pierre Fabre Medicament retained Plexus Ventures, a pharmaceutical business development firm, to assist with the company’s in-licensing and acquisition campaign in Germany. The Plexus Ven-tures team was led by Mr. Pino Modica, managing partner, and success of the project is attributed to the knowledge of senior consultants, Mr. Klaus Welzel in Frankfurt and Mr. Valerio Zoja in Milan.
“One of the main advantages Plexus Ventures brings to our clients is our strong international presence and extensive contacts within the most important markets in the pharmaceutical industry,” noted Pino Modica. “In this case, we were able use our network of contacts to bring new opportunities to the table. We are proud we were able to meet our client’s needs by finding an ideal partner and a deal structure that will benefit both parties in the long run.”
Mr. Alain Benoit, vice president of corporate licensing and acquisitions for Pierre Fabre, said, “We knew that this was a difficult task and we are glad Plexus Ventures was able to help us achieve this important strategic objective of consolidating our presence in the German market.”
Douglas Prince has been named executive vice president finance and chief financial officer,
MDS, Inc., effective March 12th. He replaces
Jim Garner, who will leave the company at the end of April.
Mr. Prince has more than 28 years' experience in finance and operations management. He joins the company from PerkinElmer, where he most recently launched the Enterprise Risk Management Initiative and led internal audit. Previously, he served as vice president and chief financial officer of the life and analytical sciences global business that operates in 40 countries with more than $1 billion in revenue.
Mr. Prince has served in finance leadership and management roles with General Electric. During his 17 years with GE, he led strategic turnarounds, acquisitions, integration activities and major productivity initiatives. He was also director of finance with AlliedSignal, where his leadership in integration projects served to boost productivity and increase sales. During this period, he earned a LeanSigma black belt for his re-engineering of the sales, inventory and production process.
"I am very pleased to have Doug Prince join our executive team with his wealth of financial and operational expertise," said
Stephen P. DeFalco, president and chief executive officer, MDS Inc.
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