Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - (Page 8) Executive Profile Group is not exposed to the Icelandic banks in regards to funding or normal banking facilities” and that “Actavis operates in more than 40 countries and only 1% of our revenues are generated in Iceland.” “When you make 25 acquisitions in 8 years, you need breathing time to focus on integration.” — Sigurður Olafsson For all the reassurances, Olafsson has to concede that he’s had something of a rocky ride in his first few months in the hot seat; he barely had a chance to put his pictures up before the financial crisis hit and he was thrust into the eye of a potential PR storm. “Suddenly, companies all around the world were calling and asking ‘Is Actavis all right?’” he says. “So, one of my first tasks was to educate our customers and suppliers.” This took him around the world to drive home the message that Actavis remains a strong, international company, that it is privateowned and not exposed to the pressures of the market, and that its books are in Euros and its banks outside Iceland. But if Actavis as a company has not directly been hit by the financial storm, Olafsson does admit that there is some concern for the situation: “We have 550 employees locally and of course some of them are feeling the general economic pressure.” He also points to a resulting stigma that has marked Iceland in recent months, something that certainly wasn’t helped when, days after the collapse, the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown employed anti-terrorism laws to seize the assets of Landsbanki and Kaupthing in the UK, fearing the uncertainty surrounding the millions of British pounds deposited in Iceland’s banks. When I offer my apologies to Olafsson for this lessthan-friendly move, he smiles: “That’s more of a politicians-to-politicians issue. People here saw it as a political tactic.” Gordon Brown may have added insult to injury, but Olafsson reassures me that business relations with Britain remain very healthy: “We are the second biggest generics company in the UK. And we’ve been getting great feedback on a new product, Clamelle, that we’ve recently launched over there.” (Clamelle is the first over the counter chlamydia drug). His diplomatic handling of this potentially awkward subject testifies to Olafsson’s experience in the pharma and generics boardrooms. He began in the industry in 1994, with Iceland’s Omega Pharma. The company was just starting up, and Olafsson, a trained pharmacist, remembers being “employee number seven,” which gave him plenty of opportunity to get involved in every aspect of the business — sales and marketing, regulatory affairs, drug development. Four years later he joined Pfizer in the UK, and found the switch from small to Big Pharma equally valuable. By 2003, when Actavis came to call, he was with Pfizer in the US. “… how can we take Actavis to the next level? Is it by buying something new, by merging, by IPO-ing it at some point?” Olafsson joined Actavis in October 2003 as the company’s sole employee in the US. Manning an office in Hartford, Connecticut, he was engaged in finding acquisition targets and thus “had coffee with most if not all of the generic companies in the US.” Within a couple of years he had contributed to Actavis’ vigorous acquisition and in-licensing policy, positioning Actavis among the top five generic pharmaceutical companies in the world. In late 2006, he returned to Iceland to become the company’s deputy CEO. He was hardly new to the job, then, when Wessman vacated the CEO seat in August last year, but I ask him if there was any trepidation in filling those big shoes, and in continuing the growth that Wessman so successfully managed (the company grew from 146 employees in 1999 to over 11,000 last year). “When I took over, the environment had changed,” Olafsson tells me. “We are not focusing on acquisition as much; we are focusing on organic growth now. Robert did a fantastic job of building up the company, but lately it’s been a different Actavis era. We’ve been focusing on making the most of our investments and thinking about synergies and optimisation.” Olafsson points out, quite sensibly, that “when you make 25 acquisitions in 8 years, clearly you need breathing time to focus on integration.” Consequently, the company hasn’t made a major acquisition now for over a year. It has, however, acquired products, and in going to territories such as, say, Asia-Pacific, has chosen to work with established local companies. 10 DIAGNOSTICS Change your patients, not your drugs 13 BUSINESS ETHICS Could you blow the whistle? 16 ON THE MOVE This weeks appointments and promotions 2 FROM THE EDITOR A week in pharma is a long time
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 Contents From the Editor News Calendar Actavis Exclusive Diagnostics Business Ethics On the Move Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - Contents (Page 1) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - From the Editor (Page 2) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - News (Page 3) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - News (Page 4) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - Calendar (Page 5) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - Calendar (Page 6) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - Actavis Exclusive (Page 7) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - Actavis Exclusive (Page 8) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - Actavis Exclusive (Page 9) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - Diagnostics (Page 10) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - Diagnostics (Page 11) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - Diagnostics (Page 12) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - Business Ethics (Page 13) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - Business Ethics (Page 14) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - Business Ethics (Page 15) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - February 11, 2009 - On the Move (Page 16)
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