Hospira appoints new general counsel and secretary

Hospira has announced the appointment of Royce Bedward as corporate vice-president, general counsel and secretary, effective immediately.

In his new role, Mr Bedward will be responsible for overseeing legal functions such as litigation, benefits, labour and employment, intellectual property, governance, securities and transactional matters, reporting to newly-appointed chief legal officer Brian Smith.

He is one of the founding members of Hospira's legal leadership team and previously served as senior counsel for litigation at Abbott, Hospira's former parent company.

Michael Ball, chief executive officer of Hospira, said: "Royce is an accomplished lawyer and integrity-driven business leader with more than ten years of experience in the healthcare field and a proven track record of success at Hospira."

The company also announced that Dr Sumant Ramachandra is leaving his position as senior vice-president and chief scientific officer, which he has occupied since 2008.

In 2012, Hospira achieved an annual sales total of $4.009 billion (2.67 billion pounds), up by 0.9 percent on the previous year.