Ichiro Kikushige has been appointed chief executive officer of Teva Seiyaku, Japan, effective on May 15, 2013. Mr. Kikushige will replace Makoto Shimada, who is retiring after serving 40 years in Japan’s pharma industry. Mr. Shimada will stay with the company until June 30, 2013 to facilitate a smooth transition.
 
“As an effective leader with more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Mr. Kikushige is well-qualified to assume this important role within Teva in Japan,” said Prof. Itzhak Krinsky, chairman of Teva Japan and Teva South Korea. “Under the leadership of Teva president and chief executive officer Dr. Jeremy Levin, the company is implementing a new growth strategy to become the most indispensable pharmaceutical company of the world. Japan, the second largest pharmaceutical market, offers attractive opportunities for growth, and we now are entering into the next phase of leveraging our established business and position within the Japanese market.”
 
Mr. Kikushige is currently head of sales at Eli Lilly Japan. He joined Lilly in 1988 as a sales representative and was promoted to marketing director in 1997, head of the Oncology Business in 2002, and has held his current position since 2008. Before joining Lilly, he worked for Pfizer Japan and has more than 30 years of pharmaceutical industry experience.