Valeant chairman dies

Robert W O’Leary, chairman of the board at Valeant, died on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer.

Serving as a board member since 2003, Mr O’Leary served as vice chairman of the board at GlaxoSmithKline and as chairman of the board at OSU Pharmaceuticals. He was appointed chairman and chief executive officer at ICN Pharmaceuticals in June 2002 and following that, successfully led the transformation of Valeant Pharmaceuticals, according to company reports.

Timothy C Tyson, Valeant’s chief executive officer expressed sadness at Mr O’Leary’s passing in a statement on the company website. He said: “Rob was a man of enormous vision, courage and character ? values central to everything he touched and a core part of our Company.

He led Valeant in a remarkable turnaround and built it into a model of integrity, accountability and transparency. We will all miss Rob?s counsel and wisdom, and his mark will long be felt by this company. On behalf of the board of directors and all Valeant employees, I would like to extend our deepest condolences to the O’Leary family.”

Valeant is a pharmaceutical specialising in the development, manufacture and devlivery of products treating neurology, infectious diseases and dermatology. It has around 430 products in its portfolio and employs over 3,767 people worldwide.

Recent financial results for the second quarter showed an increase in sales across all regions, with share prices rising and product sales increasing by 15 per cent in comparison with a year ago.

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