Bristol-Myers Puts Andreotti in Driver’s Seat
It seemed like only a question of time, but Bristol-Myers Squibb said this afternoon that Lamberto Andreotti, its president and chief operating officer since last March, would succeed James M. Cornelius as CEO.
Andreotti, a 12-year veteran of the company, is 59 years old and Cornelius is 66. Cornelius was tapped as Bristol-Myers CEO in 2006 (first on an interim basis) and then got the added job as chairman in 2008. Picking a successor was one of his key missions.
Andreotti takes command after Bristol-Myers decided to sit out the wave of multibillion-dollar takeovers that saw big competitors Pfizer, Merck and Lilly get even bigger. Bristol-Myers instead has pursued smaller biotech deals and alliances as well as developing its own pipeline through what it called a “string of pearls” strategy. The company also decided to shrink its non-core units with the split-off of its Mead Johnson baby-formula business.
Looking ahead, Bristol-Myers will have to cope with the loss of patent protection for money spinners like the company’s anticlotting pill Plavix, the world’s second best-selling drug after Pfizer’s Lipitor. The company has cut costs through layoffs, plant closures and wage freezes, Dow Jones Newswires notes.
Cornelius will remain as the drug maker’s […]
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