Shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) plunged on Monday morning after the company said both its chief executive officer and chief financial officer have left the company, effective immediately. The shakeup in the C-level suite comes on the heels of the Soliris whistleblower case and the delayed 10-Q filing.
EXECUTIVE SHAKEUP: Alexion announced this morning that CEO David Hallal is resigning for “personal reasons” and will be replaced on an interim basis by board member and former AstraZeneca (AZN) CEO David Brennan. The company will launch a search for a permanent CEO. Hallal became Alexion’s CEO in April 2015. Additionally, Alexion said this morning that CFO Vikas Singh is also leaving the company “to pursue other opportunities.” He will be succeeded by David Anderson, who served as Honeywell’s (HON) CFO for 11 years. Commenting on the resignations, CNBC’s Meg Tirrell reported that the CEO and CFO are leaving the company after losing the confidence of Alexion’s board. “With strong new leaders in place, we will continue to be relentlessly focused on serving patients and families with devastating and rare diseases,” said Chairman Leonard Bell.
SHAKEUP COMES FROM ‘POSITION OF STRENGTH’: In a conference call discussing the executive shakeup, the company said that while the CEO and CFO announcements are “likely unexpected,” the changes come from “a position of strength.” Interim CEO Brennan said he is “fully committed” to the role and that the company’s rare disease pipeline is “robust and promising.” The company did not take questions on the call.
INVESTIGATION NEARING COMPLETION: Alexion disclosed last month that it was investigating allegations made by a former employee regarding sales practices involving its Soliris drug. The company said in this morning’s statement that its audit and finance committee’s investigation is close to completion and that it has not identified any facts that require it to update its previously reported historical results at this point in time.
Leave A Comment