Sagent Pharma Seeks New CEO as Founder Steps Down
March 26, 2015
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. – Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has initiated a search for a new chief executive officer, following news of current chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Yordon’s decision to retire.
Yordon, who was a founder of Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will remain a member of the company’s board of directors.
“It has been an honor to have founded Sagent and to have built it into the successful and growing specialty pharmaceuticals company it is today. I am very proud of our enormous progress and our many accomplishments,” Yordon said in a said in a press release. “I have the highest regard for the Sagent team and continue to have every confidence that the Company's future is bright. My new role will allow me time to pursue my many personal interests.”
Board member Frank Kung has been appointed as temporary chairman while the company, known for injectable pharmaceuticals, seeks a permanent replacement. Kung has served as a member of Sagent's board of directors since May 2006. He is a founding member of Vivo Capital.
Kung praised Yordon for his leadership since the company’s founding in 2006.
“He has been instrumental in forging Sagent's vision and helping to build Sagent into a high growth specialty pharmaceutical company. I will work with management to ensure that the company continues to build on its strategy and serve the best interests of our shareholders,” Kung said in a press release.
In addition to Yordon’s retirement, Sagent also announced that James Hussey, who served as the company's president, has decided to leave the company.
Sagent launched Colistimethate for injection, which is used for the treatment of acute or chronic infections due to sensitive strains of certain gram-negative bacilli, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
In February Sagent issued the recall of two different dosage levels of its injectable Atracurium Besylate due to concerns raised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over sterility concerns at the manufacturing site operated by Emcure Pharmaceuticals Limited.
Also in February the company reported increased revenues of 32 percent to $84.4 million during its fourth quarter, primarily driven by products launched over the previous year and the October 2014 acquisition of Omega Laboratories. The company acquired Omega, a specialty pharmaceutical company based in Montreal, Canada for approximately $83 million. Revenue for 2014 was $289.8 million, an increase of $45 million, or 18 percent, compared to $244.8 million in 2013.
The company reported projected net revenue for 2015 to be in the range of $325 to $375 million. Yordon’s retirement does not impact that projection, the company said. Sagent’s stock was down this morning, trading at $26.38 per share.
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