Amneal Appoints Dr. Shankar Hariharan as Chief Scientific Officer and EVP of Specialty Pharmaceuticals

Amneal Appoints Dr. Shankar Hariharan as Chief Scientific Officer and EVP of Specialty Pharmaceuticals

Amneal Pharmaceuticals has announced that Dr. Shankar Hariharan has joined the company as Chief Scientific Officer/Executive Vice President of Specialty Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Hariharan was previously Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc. in Woodcliff Lake, NJ, a producer of both branded and generic drugs, where he directed a staff of over 240 and a budget exceeding $70 million. He created a Brand Product Development/New Drug Application (NDA) Division and obtained Par's first NDA approval. Dr. Hariharan identified products for internal development or in-licensing for the company's branded and generic portfolios. He successfully built internal expertise in Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) for generics and redirected the product selection strategy to value-added offerings such as sustained release and modified release drugs.

In the past 18 months Amneal has significantly expanded its R&D capabilities in number of products, variety of dosage forms, range of therapeutic categories, product complexity and diversity. The firm's newest R&D Centre in Ahmadabad, Gujarat, India, a 75,000 square foot facility completed in late 2008, joins its U.S. R&D sites in Brookhaven, NY (R&D "headquarters") and Branchburg, NJ (under expansion). Additional R&D facilities are under consideration.

"Dr. Shankar Hariharan's depth of R&D experience, proven results and strong leadership skills bring tremendous value to Amneal as we extend our global reach in both generic and specialty pharmaceuticals," said Chintu Patel, CEO and Co-Founder of Amneal. "We enthusiastically welcome him to the Amneal family."

Most recently Dr. Hariharan was President, CEO and Co-Founder of DermAct Pharmaceutical, Inc., Melville, NY and Action Medicines of Spain, companies dedicated to developing and commercializing products for dermatology applications. He has also held senior executive and R&D management positions with Forest Laboratories, Inc., Inwood, NY and IDR Laboratory and Clinic, Ltd. in Rockville, MD.

Dr. Hariharan received his Ph.D. from Northeastern University's School of Pharmacy and Masters and Bachelor of Pharmacy degrees from Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, American College of Clinical Pharmacology, American Society for Microbiology and the Indian Pharmaceutical Society.

"I look forward to applying my results-driven experience to support Amneal's R&D expansion into specialty pharma and further enhance our product portfolio," said Dr. Hariharan. "Amneal has an outstanding reputation in the generics industry, and I'm very pleased to facilitate their continued growth worldwide."