Wyeth's Bernard Poussot is named CEO

Wyeth, the drugmaker that saw three products postponed by U.S. regulators this year, named Bernard Poussot chief executive officer, replacing Robert Essner.

Poussot, 55, will take over Jan. 1 from Essner, who has been CEO since May 2001, Wyeth said yesterday.

The Madison, N.J., company, which employs about 5,000 people at its Collegeville, Pa., campus, has been seeking products to replace revenue when its antidepressant Effexor, which generated $3.7 billion last year, loses patent protection after 2010. Wyeth had estimated that the three new products stalled by U.S. regulators this year could generate more than $4 billion annually.

Shares of Wyeth closed at $44.79, up 9 cents. The stock had dropped 12 percent this year before yesterday.

The change came "faster than people had thought," said Michael Krensavage, an analyst with Raymond James & Associates Inc., of New York. "I wasn't expecting it this early. I think the shareholders are frustrated with the string of pipeline setbacks."

Poussot, who lives in Villanova, began his career at Wyeth in 1986 and, in 2002, became executive vice president of Wyeth's research operations. He was promoted to president in April 2006.

"Bernard Poussot, having been president and COO, was the heir apparent," said Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc. analyst Tony Butler. "But the timing of the announcement is a bit of a surprise."

Wyeth spokesman Doug Petkus described yesterday's announcement as "the culmination of an orderly succession plan that has been in progress at the board for some time."

Since Jan. 1, the Food and Drug Administration has postponed clearance of Wyeth's bifeprunox for schizophrenia, Pristiq for depression and menopausal hot flashes, and Viviant for bone loss. The kidney-cancer drug Torisel was delayed in April before winning approval in May.

On July 24, the FDA delayed approval of Pristiq for menopause, asking for more data on heart and liver effects and outlining the need for at least one more year of clinical tests. Wyeth shares fell the most in five years, erasing $7.7 billion of market value.