May 11, 2016
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Doug Drysdale, chief executive officer of Pernix Therapeutics Holdings and chairman of the board of directors, abruptly resigned his positions, the company announced this morning.
A search for a permanent CEO has been launched, the company said. John Sedor has been tapped as chairman of the board and interim CEO. Sedor is also a member of the board of directors. Sedor is expected to remain board chairman after a new CEO is found.
No reason was provided for Drysdale’s resignation.
Sedor has served as a member of the board since March 2014. He has also been chairman and CEO of SEDOR Pharmaceuticals and served as president, CEO and a director of Cangene, a developer and manufacturer of immune therapeutics, from 2011 until its acquisition by Emergent BioSolutions in February 2014. He also served as a president of Sandoz, which was acquired by Novartis .
“On behalf of the Pernix Board of Directors and employees, we would like to thank Doug for his service to the company, and wish him success in his future endeavors. We recognize and appreciate Doug’s significant contributions to Pernix,” Sedor said in a statement.
Pernix’s stock was down more than 13 percent following news of Drysdale’s departure. Its shares are trading at 43 cents, down from its closing price of 50 cents per share on Tuesday. Last week, Pernix’s stock saw some gains after the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office denied a challenge to a Pernix patent from Gray Square Pharmaceuticals.
Pernix Therapeutics is a specialty pharmaceutical company working to develop products for underserved areas of the central nervous system, including neurology and psychiatry. Last year, the company struck a $383 million deal to acquire Zogenic’s pain killer pipeline, the Zohydro ER franchise, which includes three extended release hydrocodone products.
The deal is part of a Pernix plan to expand the company’s reach into underserved therapeutic areas. The acquisition of the pain killer pipeline will establish a platform for Pernix to become a leading player in the opioid pain market, the company said at the time the deal was struck.
With Sedor’s move to interim CEO, that left Pernix with only two independent directors on its audit committee, a violation of Nasdaq rules. The company notified the Nasdaq exchange and has until Nov. 5, 2016 to fill the vacant spot, the company said.
