Dive Brief:
- Salix CEO Carolyn Logan will resign her position at the company effective January 30, according to FiercePharma. Company chairman Tom D'Alonzo will serve as acting CEO.
- Logan is the second C-suite executive at the company to step down over a controversy centering on the mischaracterization of wholesale inventories of the company's drugs. CFO Adam Derbyshire resigned in November.
- At the time of Derbyshire's departure, Salix announced that wholesalers had bought up much larger inventories of its drugs than the company first indicated, significantly inflating sales figures for therapies like Xifaxan, Apriso, and Uceris.
Dive Insight:
In addition to raising questions about Salix's drug sale strength—and the company's sales outlook for 2015—investors were reportedly rattled by claims that these inventory mischaracterizations may have also scuttled potential deals with companies like Cosmo Pharmaceuticals and Allergan (before the latter company agreed to its $66 billion deal with Actavis).
Going forward, Salix is farming out the task of identifying Logan's replacement to an outside consulting firm, according to company spokespeople, and will work to reduce wholesalers' stockpiles of its drugs.