Teva appoints Dr. Yitzhak Peterburg as interim CEO, Erez Vigodman steps down

Teva ‘s chief executive officer Erez Vigodman has stepped down from its position, and the Israel’s largest drugmaker has appointed Dr. Yitzhak Peterburg, who has served as Chairman of the Teva’s Board since January 2015, as Interim President CEO.

Dr. Yitzhak Peterburg has stepped down from his role as Chairman in order to serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer.

The Board has elected Dr. Sol J. Barer, who has been a member of the Teva Board since January 2015, as Chairman.

The company said it has engaged a search firm and is currently looking for a permanent CEO.

Legal shortcomings

Neither Teva nor Vigodman explain the reason for the his departure. Vigodman did say that he believed “that now is the right time” to step down.” However, it has seen a rough period in the last several months as it came short in several court trials in the USA. The latest ruling against Teva was for breaching Mylan’s patent.

Other recent court rulings against Teva included Aralez’s charges on Teva’s infringing its four patents  covering Yosprala (aspirin and omeprazole), Eli Lilly’s claim on the vitamin regimen patent, for which the court said is valid and would be infringed by the generic Teva’s proposed products. Late December, Teva agreed to pay U.S. government $519M over foreign bribery charges.