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Concordia founder resigns and will step down once replacement found

pharmafile | October 25, 2016 | News story | Manufacturing and Production CEO, Concordia, Mark Thompson, Valeant 

Concordia International Corp., the Ontario-based company, has announced that its founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Thompson, will leave the pharmaceutical company once a successor has been found. The company has had a difficult time of late, with their shares down 85% in the last 12 months.

Concordia has gained a reputation for aggressively price hiking. For example, it acquired the irritable bowel syndrome, Donnatal, and then increased price from $353 to $602. The company also raised eyebrows back in May when it increased the price of medicine that the NHS relies upon. Particularly, the 14-fold raising the cost of fusidic eye drops for bacterial conjunctivitis.

“Mark was our founder and successfully built Concordia into an international specialty pharmaceutical company. Under his leadership, Concordia today has a robust product pipeline and a platform that reaches patients in over 100 countries. He and the Board agreed that this would be the ideal time for a leadership change at the Company and the Board thanks him for his significant contribution over the years,” said Jordan Kupinsky, Lead Independent Director.

“This is an important juncture for Concordia,” continued Mr. Kupinsky. “We recently closed a very successful US$350 million debt offering and completed a strategic review of the business. With a portfolio of more than 200 products, a platform for continued international expansion, a strong commercial footprint and opportunities for organic growth, we look forward to building on our past successes.”

The important juncture could be seen as a move away from the aggressive price hiking policy strategy they have taken so far. Losing their CEO, in a manner similar to Valeant Pharmaceuticals, could reflect an attempt to craft a new image and pursue a different strategy.

Ben Hargreaves

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