ALZA CHIEF WILL BE EX-GLAXO CEO MARIO effective Aug. 2, the company announced July 12. Former Glaxo Holdings Deputy Chairman and CEO Ernest Mario will succeed Martin Gerstel as co-chairman and CEO of Alza. The drug delivery technology company has been looking for a new chief executive since February 1992, when Gerstel announced his intention to leave the top spot at Alza to pursue personal interests ("The Pink Sheet" Feb. 10, 1992, In Brief). Mario, 55, left Glaxo in March, citing differences with the company's board ("The Pink Sheet" March 15, T&G-4). He joined Glaxo in 1986 as president of Glaxo U.S. and leapt to the corporate top spot in just three years. Prior to joining Glaxo, Mario was a group VP at Squibb. Mario will share the Alza chairmanship with founder Alejandro Zaffaroni. Jane Shaw will remain as president and chief operating officer, Alza said. Gerstel, 52, will assume the new title of vice chairman "for the interim to assist Dr. Mario during the transition," Alza added. After the transition, Gerstel "will continue as a member of the company's board of directors." Gerstel has been with Alza since its founding in 1968. Mario is assuming the top post at Alza as the company is in the midst of expanding its in-house promotional and manufacturing efforts. Recent and upcoming launches of Alza developed products include the Janssen fentanyl patch Duragesic, the Marion Merrell Dow nicotine patch Nicoderm and the Ciba-Geigy OTC cough-cold medicine Efidac/24. Alza has also recently established a spinoff to focus on developing proprietary drugs ("The Pink Sheet" April 12, T&G-13). A challenge for Mario will be to maintain Alza's royalty stream, which remains reliant on sales of Pfizer's Procardia XL. The $1 bil. product is now facing its first direct competition from a once-a-day nifedipine brand, Miles' Adalat CC ("The Pink Sheet" July 5, T&G-1). A third once-a-day nifedipine, Elan/Miles' Nifelan, is pending approval. A more significant threat could be a generic equivalent to Procardia XL. Alza's delivery system is patented through 2002, but generic firms, including KV, are understood to be pursuing an "AB" rated version. Alza's vulnerability to any decline in Procardia XL sales was highlighted by the company's June 16 announcement that royalty revenues would decline due to wholesaler inventory fluctuations ("The Pink Sheet" June 28, p. 13). During Mario's tenure at Glaxo, Alza and Glaxo collaborated on the development of the sustained-release albuterol formulation Volmax, which was approved Dec. 23 after a five-year review. Volmax was subsequently outlicensed to Muro ("The Pink Sheet" July 12, T&G-2). Alza and Glaxo have not disclosed any other collaborative agreements.
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