Dive Brief:
- Last year, North Carolina-based Salix Pharma, which makes bowel drugs, was in discussions with Allergan regarding a potential buy-out. But that potential deal lost steam when Salix's wholesaler inventory discrepancies were revealed.
- The CEO of Salix, Carolyn Logan, stepped down earlier this month.
- Last November, when Salix announced that its wholesale inventory levels of its top-selling irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) drug, Xifaxin (rifaximin), was higher than reported, the company was forced to change earnings estimates. The stock was down sharply on the news.
Dive Insight:
In a period of three months, Salix has gone from being a potential takeover target for Allergan to weighing its options, including a possible sale to a larger company, as well as cutting sales to wholesalers to rectify supply inventory issues this year.
Shareholders have been unhappy. But the recent departure of the CEO, coupled with speculation about a big move in the future, has been a positive for the stock, which was up 8.3% in response to the news of Logan's departure. It currently stands at about $125 per share on the NASDAQ.