BOEHRINGER MANNHEIM PHARMACEUTICALS HEAD IS EX-BEECHAM PRESIDENT

BOEHRINGER MANNHEIM PHARMACEUTICALS HEAD IS EX-BEECHAM PRESIDENT Ted Wood, Boehringer Mannheim America Chairman Robert Schwindt announced Dec. 20. Wood will assume the title of president of Boehringer Mannheim Pharmaceuticals Corporation (BMPC) on Jan. 13. He succeeds Rainer Hoffmann, who resigned in May. Wood, 53, spent 15 years at Beecham Labs and was its president at the time of the 1989 merger with SmithKline. After the merger, Wood was named exec VP-sales and marketing of the combined company but left in April 1990. Before joining Beecham, Wood spent 10 years with the pharmaceutical division of Dow Chemical. Commenting on the appointment, Schwindt said: "Ted Wood is particularly well qualified to lead BMPC in this period of rapid growth. During his career with Beecham he had a broad range of responsibilities and leadership experience including regulatory affairs, product development, manufacturing, finance and human resources." Wood said he was impressed by the firm's commitment to establishing a U.S. presence, calling the task an "exciting challenge." He added that the company has "a good track record" in the diagnostics and orthopedic areas. Finally, he cited an "interesting expertise in biotechnology" which he feels gave the company an early lead in "biologically obtained pharmaceuticals." Wood will join a management team at BMPC that includes ex-FDA Bureau of Drugs Director Richard Crout, who serves as VP and medical director. The Rockville, Md.-based U.S. pharmaceutical arm of the German firm Boehringer Mannheim International, BMPC is a subsidiary of Boehringer Mannheim America, which also holds the diagnostics and biochemical firm Boehringer Mannheim Corp. and the orthopedics manufacturer DePuy. Boehringer Mannheim and SmithKline Beecham have a partnership agreement for four cardiovascular drugs, including the beta blocker Kredex (carvedilol), which has a pending NDA. Two thromboxane receptor antagonists, sulotroban and daltroban, are in Phase III and Phase I trials, respectively. SmithKline acquired rights to the compounds in December 1986. BMPC also has a modified plasminogen activator, ecoplase, in clinicals.