People In Brief

Rep. Burton retires; OTC veteran Arnett leads Matrixx; Alkalife hires new leadership, including founder’s son; Clark joins Captek Softgel; more People In Brief.

Rep. Burton retires

Supplement industry ally Rep. Dan Burton will not seek reelection in November, he said Jan. 31. The Indiana Republican, a member of Congress since 1983, is a co-chairman of the Dietary Supplement Caucus. He recently introduced a bill that would move the grandfather date for old dietary ingredients under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act from Oct. 15, 1994, to Jan. 1, 2007 (Also see "Burton Bill Would Move Up New Dietary Ingredient Grandfather Date To 2007" - Pink Sheet, 14 Nov, 2011.).

Rep. Dan Burton

Courtesy of Rep. Burton's office

OTC veteran to lead Matrixx

M’lou Arnettjoins[Matrixx Initiatives Inc.] as CEO, bringing experience including leading development of the “Mr. Mucus” advertising campaign for Mucinex when she was with Adams Respiratory Therapeutics Inc. Most recently Arnett was chief operating officer of Scerene Healthcare Inc., a company she co-founded to develop Puristics personal care products. From 2004 to 2008 she was senior VP of marketing and advertising for Adams, which marketed Mucinexand other OTC cough and cold products. According to Matrixx’s Feb. 1 release, Arnett oversaw the development of the Mr. Mucus ad campaign that Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC still uses for Mucinex; Reckitt bought Adams in 2008. Arnett also has managed consumer brands for Pfizer Consumer Health Care Group and Warner-Lambert Consumer Healthcare including Listerine oral care, Lubriderm lotion and Benadryl allergy treatments.

Matrixx was plagued by plummeting sales and litigation dealing with its Zicam zinc cold remedies line, eventually resulting in its sale to private equity firm H.I.G. Capital in late 2010 (Also see "Matrixx Bought By Private Equity Firm H.I.G., Settles Personal Injury Lawsuits" - Pink Sheet, 20 Dec, 2010.). Arnett said she has a history of growing brands through consumer insights. “We have the opportunity to make Zicam a household name, something everyone has in their medicine cabinet,” she said in the release.

Alkalife hires new leadership, including founder’s son

Peter Whang, son of Alkalife founder San Whang, is among the executives who recently joined the Miami firm. San Whang died in January 2011. “It was his father’s vision that Peter would join Alkalife and continue to magnify the science and the legacy of his life’s work,” outgoing President Josephine Gordy said in a Feb. 1 release. Peter Whang, who previously led R&D projects at technology company LAHC Inc., joins Alkalife as chief research and development officer. The alkaline supplement maker also announced Jose Fernandez as president and CEO, Jorge Sandrini as chief marketing officer, Richard Natrillo as executive VP of business development and Steve Whang as director of client relations.

Clark joins Captek Softgel

Custom supplement maker Captek Softgel Jan. 16 announces Lisa Clark as VP of business development. Clark has more than 21 years of experience in the food and dietary supplement industries, most recently as director of business development at [Natural Alternatives International Inc.] She previously was director of sales/business development at Deerland Enzymes, a contract supplement manufacturer.

Vitacost gets new CFO

Brian Helman will become chief financial officer of online vitamin retailer [Vitacost.com Inc.] at the end of February, the Boca Raton, Fla., firm announces Jan. 31. Helman most recently was CFO of Intermedix Corp. and previously was CFO at Rosetta Stone, where he led the firm’s initial public offering. Vitacost.com CEO Jeffrey Horowitz touted his “significant financial and accounting experience” in high growth technology companies. Helman replaces Stephen Market Jr., who began in the role on an interim basis in October 2010. Vitacost almost filed for bankruptcy in 2010 after errors in its IPO and was warned it was in danger of being delisted from NASDAQ before making management changes (Also see "In Brief" - Pink Sheet, 30 May, 2011.).

Alliance revamps leadership

The Alliance for a Stronger FDA announces new leadership of its board of directors for 2012. Margaret Anderson, executive director of the medical research nonprofit Faster Cures, becomes president, the group announces Jan. 31. She has served on the board since the group was founded and was vice president in 2011. Diane Dorman, of the National Organization for Rare Disorders, becomes the group’s VP. Rich Buckley of AstraZeneca PLC becomes secretary and Caroline Smith DeWaal of the Center for Science in the Public Interest is treasurer.

Other executive committee members include Andrew Emmett of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, Kasey Thompson of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and Nancy Bradish Myers of Catalyst Healthcare Consulting. Myers was president in 2011.