Novartis Consumer Health Changes Leave CHPA Without A Chair

Novartis exec Michel Orsinger has taken the reigns as head of the firm's consumer health global OTC division, effective Jan. 1.

Orsinger, recently in charge of Novartis' European OTC division, previously oversaw the nutrition operations for Europe, Middle East and Africa. He replaces Michael Valentino, who held the global head OTC/exec VP position since October 2000.

Valentino, currently board chairman of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, has left Novartis to "pursue other opportunities."

Valentino joined Novartis in early 1999 as president and CEO of the medical nutrition sector of U.S. consumer health. He previously was president of Pharmacia (then Pharmacia & Upjohn) consumer healthcare North America and spent 13 years with Warner-Lambert.

The shift to Orsinger as global OTC head coincides with a management change at the top of Novartis' consumer health ladder.

Also effective Jan. 1, Paul Choffat, PhD, succeeded in retiring Al Piergallini as the Novartis Consumer Health head.

Piergallini led the worldwide consumer health division since December 1999, when he was promoted from North American president and CEO. He joined the firm in 1994 when Novartis (then Sandoz, prior to the merger with Ciba) acquired Gerber Products.

Choffat, 52, will be responsible for the same businesses run by Piergallini, including OTC, infant & baby, medical nutrition, health & functional food, and animal health, as well as Ciba Vision, which has been folded into the consumer health group.

Novartis Consumer Health generated sales of $3.06 bil. - or roughly 21% of the firm's overall revenue - in the first nine months of 2001. Ciba Vision, which had operated as an independent segment, posted sales of $843 mil. in the period, up 46% from a year ago.

Choffat brings a management background to the position, rather than extensive consumer health experience. The exec joined Sandoz in 1995 as head of management resources and international coordination.

He was responsible for group planning and organization as an executive board member and oversaw the integration office during the 1996 Sandoz/Ciba merger.

Choffat, who holds a PhD in law and an MBA, started his career with Nestle in marketing and sales.

The recent leadership restructuring at Novartis - specifically the departure of Valentino - comes at an unfortunate time for CHPA.

The association is searching for a permanent replacement for President Michael Maves, MD, who takes over the American Medical Association top post Jan. 15 (¹ (Also see "CHPA Has Experienced Senior VP Corps To Cover In Maves Transition" - Pink Sheet, 26 Nov, 2001.), p. 3).

As board and exec committee chair, Valentino has played a key role in initiating the search process and recruiting Robert Donovan to serve as an interim president during the transition (² 'The Tan Sheet' Dec. 24, 2001, In Brief).

However, under CHPA bylaws all board members must be employed by an active member company; Valentino thus will be forced to vacate his position.

"In the event of the absence of the chairman," the by-laws state, "the chairman-elect or one of the vice chairman designated by the chairman shall perform the duties of the office."

A chairman-elect has yet to be named since Valentino was still in the first of typically two terms. The board has eight vice chairmen, and immediate past chairman Charles Hinkaty, president of Del Pharmaceuticals, oversees the nominating committee.

CHPA said it has not received notification from Novartis about Valentino's departure; the exec reportedly will remain on the Novartis payroll through January.

CHPA has been in the position of having to switch chairmen mid-term before. In the mid-1990s, the then-Nonprescription Drug Manufacturers Association endured a string of such occasions, which gave rise to a rumored NDMA chairman's "hex."

In 1994, David Collins, then-president of Schering-Plough Healthcare, retired as chair mid-term and was replaced by Donovan, then a Sandoz senior VP. However, due to the Ciba/Sandoz merger, Donovan had to be replaced by Thomas Laughlin of Pharmacia & Upjohn. Then, in 1996, Bayer's Gary Balkema took the CHPA title mid-term when Laughlin left Pharmacia (³ (Also see "NDMA chair-elect is Del Pharma's Hinkaty, successor to Bayer's Balkema in 1999." - Pink Sheet, 2 Feb, 1998.), p. 5).