Watson Names G. Frederick Wilkinson Executive Vice President, Global Brands
Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. logo.(PRNewsFoto/Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)
CORONA, CA UNITED STATES
MORRISTOWN, N.J., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI), a leader in generic and specialty branded pharmaceuticals, announced today that G. Frederick Wilkinson has joined the Company as Executive Vice President, Global Brands. In this newly expanded position Mr. Wilkinson will be responsible for all aspects of the Company's global brand pharmaceutical business, including brand product development, global sales and marketing and coordinating brand product business development activities. In addition, Mr. Wilkinson will oversee Watson's biologic development efforts. Mr. Wilkinson will report directly to Paul Bisaro, President and Chief Executive Officer.
"Fred returns to Watson with an extraordinary record of accomplishments having built a successful brand products business at Duramed Pharmaceuticals, the brand business of Barr Pharmaceuticals, particularly in the area of women's healthcare," said Paul Bisaro, Watson CEO. "We will look to Fred to further strengthen our US brand business, which includes a strong product portfolio supported by the recent launches of RAPAFLO(R) and Gelnique(R)."
"Fred's global experience will also be invaluable as we seek to maximize opportunities for our brand portfolio in new markets that will result from the successful acquisition of Arrow Group, which is expected to close this fall," Bisaro added. "Finally, Fred's experience in biologics, including expansion of Barr's biopharmaceutical production capabilities, development of a pipeline of early stage projects, and his work to shepherd Barr's initial biologics vaccine product through the FDA clinical development process, will enable him to effectively guide our efforts in becoming a leader in the generic biologics area."
Most recently, Mr. Wilkinson served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the proprietary products subsidiary of Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He joined Duramed in 2006 and had responsibility for the Company's successful expansion of Duramed's female healthcare product franchise and pipeline, and for managing Barr's biologics initiatives. Prior to joining Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Wilkinson served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Columbia Laboratories since 2001. From 1996 to 2001, Mr. Wilkinson was Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Watson Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Watson, he spent sixteen years at Sandoz Pharmaceutical Corporation in numerous senior managerial positions of increasing responsibility.
About Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a global leader in the development and distribution of pharmaceuticals with a broad portfolio of generic products and a specialized portfolio of branded pharmaceuticals focused on Urology, Women's Health and Nephrology (Medical).
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Forward-Looking Statement
Any statements contained in this press release that refer to future events or other non-historical facts are forward-looking statements that reflect Watson's current perspective of existing trends and information as of the date of this release. Except as expressly required by law, Watson disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from Watson's current expectations depending upon a number of factors affecting Watson's business. These factors include, among others, the impact of competitive products and pricing; market acceptance of and continued demand for Watson's products; difficulties or delays in manufacturing; the difficulty of predicting the timing or outcome of FDA or other regulatory agency approvals or actions, if any; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in Watson's periodic public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to Watson's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2009.
