April 1, 2015
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
SAN DIEGO – NuVasive, Inc. announced Chief Executive Office Alex Lukianov resigned after an independent investigation showed he had not complied with the medical device maker’s expense reimbursement and personnel policies, the company announced this morning.
In a statement the company said Lukianov’s non-compliance did not appear to impact the company’s financial results. Despite that, the company said Lukianov’s actions “were not representative of the high standards by which NuVasive operates.”
“We believe this leadership transition is appropriate and in the best interests of the Company and all of our stakeholders,” said Jack R. Blair, lead independent director of the NuVasive Board.
Lukianov served 16 years as the company’s CEO. Reuters reported Lukianov resigned from all posts effective March 27, but would remain with the company as a consultant and serve as a special advisor to his successor through Sept. 30, 2016. Lukianov will get $1.4 million in severance and consulting fees, in addition to the continued vesting of his outstanding equity awards, Reuters reported.
Following the news of Lukianov’s resignation, stock shares fell 2.07 percent to $45.04 since the opening bell.
Following Lukianov’s dismissal as CEO, the board appointed Greg Lucier to serve as chairman of the Board and interim chief executive officer. Lucier has been a member of the company board of directors since 2013.
Lucier served as CEO of Life Technologies, a life sciences company, from 2003 to February 2014, when the company was by Thermo Fisher Scientific . During his time at the helm, Lucier led the company from a small start-up known as Invitrogen, then directed the acquisition and merger of Invitrogen with Applied Biosystems in 2008 into the renamed Life Technologies. By 2013 the $4 billion company had more than 50,000 products and 12,000 employees NuVasive said.
NuVasive, the third largest medical device company, develops surgical products and procedures for the spine, including the company’s Maximum Access Surgery platform.
In addition to changes at the top, the company said it anticipates first quarter 2015 revenue will be in excess of $190 million and that it remains on track for projected profitability goals for the year. The company projects revenue of approximately $810 million for the year.
NuVasive had revenue of $762.4 million for 2014 and employs more than 1,500 people.
Last month the company announced the federal court of appeals overturned the damages award in the Company’s ongoing patent lawsuit with Medtronic Sofamor Danek USA, Inc. and Warsaw Orthopedic, Inc. The court ruled held the damages award was “erroneous” because Medtronic is not permitted to recover damages for lost profits or for the sale of convoyed products.
