Health firms tap new CEOs to solve woes

By Toni Clarke

BOSTON (Reuters) - Wanted: chief executive officer for global pharmaceutical company. Must be able to develop new products, fight generic competition and defend the price of drugs to governments and the public.

From Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), one of the world's biggest drugmakers, to ImClone Systems Inc. (IMCL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), a biotechnology company with only one marketed product, chief executives are being shown the door.

In naming their replacements, however, health companies are signaling vastly different approaches to how they may tackle their problems.

Some, such as Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Merck & Co. (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), have brought in nontraditional CEOs to spark new ideas; others, such as AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), are taking a more traditional approach; still others, including Bristol-Myers, are still searching.

"We're in this new era where companies aren't sure what is going to give them the competitive edge, so everyone is making different bets," said David Webster, healthcare consultant at Webster Consulting Group. "To make money now in the pharmaceutical business you have to solve some really tough problems and there is no room for management error."

Top healthcare executives will discuss the challenges facing their industry at the Reuters Health Summit in New York November 6-9, together with their strategies for coping.

Next year, the global pharmaceuticals market will grow at its slowest rate in a decade, according to IMS Health (RX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), and drugs worth $10 billion will lose patent protection.

The problems aren't limited to drugmakers. Health insurers, drug wholesalers and other businesses that interact with the drug industry are also feeling the pressure -- and are taking similarly diverse approaches when naming new CEOs.  Continued...