Cephalon chief executive officer takes leave of absence

Cephalon's chairman and chief executive officer Dr Frank Baldino Jr is taking a leave of absence for medical reasons, the company has confirmed.

Dr Baldino is expected to return to his position later in 2010, with chief operating officer J Kevin Buchi set to assume the responsibilities of his position until this time.

William Egan, Cephalon's presiding director, said: "Kevin has the complete confidence and full support of the board as he manages the company's operations until Frank's anticipated return later this year."

Mr Buchi is a Cephalon veteran who has served with the pharmaceuticals firm for almost 20 years, of which 14 were spent in the position of chief financial officer.

He was promoted to the newly-created role of chief operating officer earlier this year.

Last month, Cephalon published its financial report for the second quarter of 2010, a period which saw the company set record performance levels after experiencing a 32 per cent year-on-year increase in sales.