Endo Pharmaceuticals is shaking the personnel tree again, this time in the marketing department. Out is U.S. branded pharma President Joseph Ciaffoni, who joined Endo in August, as former Sanofi exec Patrick Barry moves in.
Barry comes in with a slightly different title—senior VP of U.S. branded pharmaceuticals—with another new exec, Matthew Davis, slotted in as senior VP for research and development, branded pharmaceuticals.
Why the marketing changes now? Endo declined to comment. But a couple of factors likely played into the changes, including a set of new C-level managers and the new course they've charted for the specialty pharma company.
Endo announced a top-level overhaul in September, just a month after CEO Rajiv De Silva brought Ciaffoni over from Biogen. De Silva made an abrupt exit, and Endo named its own generics and OTC chief Paul Campanelli to replace him.
Analysts saw the exec changes as a sign that Endo would shift away from De Silva's acquisition-heavy strategy, which he had honed while president and COO at Valeant. With his departure, market-watchers said Endo would likely put a stronger focus on its roots in specialty brands and generics, which made up more than 60% of revenue in 2015.
Barry's hire appears to fit with that hypothesis. He joins Endo from Sanofi, where he most recently oversaw sales and marketing activities for branded and generic products in the U.S. and Canada.
The company has also taken another big turn. After facing ruboff from the ongoing controversy over opioid painkillers—which have been among Endo's top-selling meds—the company cut its 375-rep U.S. branded field corps, in effect sidelining its core pain business. Analysts are speculating that the pain portfolio may be on the block as Endo looks to sell assets to pay down its acquisition debt.
The marketing exec changes also follow the departure of CFO Suketu Upadhyay, who left company in October. Last week, Endo named senior VP of global finance operations Blaise Coleman to take the job; he'd served as interim finance chief since Upadhyay left.