‘Tragedy’ adds to firm’s challenges
Under Sherman’s leadership, Apotex launched lawsuits to protect its market share
Apotex Inc., the Toronto-based pharmaceutical company that employs more than 6,000 people across Canada and 11,000 worldwide, faces challenges on a number of fronts, as the firm and its employees grapple with the sudden death of Barry Sherman, its founder and chair.
The generic drugmaker, the largest Canadian-owned pharmaceutical company, with an estimated $1.6 billion in 2016 sales, said Tuesday that its sole preoccupation is with navigating through a very difficult loss. Sherman, 75, and his wife, Honey, 70, were found dead in their North York home just before noon Friday. A police investigation into the cause of the deaths continues.
“Our focus right now is on supporting our employees and the Sherman family through this terrible tragedy,” said spokesperson Jordan Berman, suggesting any other discussions would take place in due course and at the appropriate time.
The most pressing issue might be one of leadership.
Under Sherman, Apotex grew from a two-employee drug business he acquired from the estate of his uncle in the 1960s into a global organization with 11,000 employees.
Sherman’s personal fortune was recently assessed by Canadian Business at $4.77 billion.
But even though Sherman stepped down as CEO in 2012 from the privately held firm he founded in 1974, he maintained full control of the capital stock of the company that owns Apotex Holdings, according to reg- ulatory filings. He also reportedly remained close to daily operations.
In the longer term, though, the pharmaceutical giant must deal with the broader issues of pricing and growth.
This is a challenging time for the generic drug industry, which is under pricing pressure amid a push for regulatory reforms to bring consumer drug costs down.
The positive: Analysts say generic prescriptions from firms such as Apotex have accounted for a larger share of total prescriptions dispensed. And Canadian generics prices have boosted industry revenue.
But provincial and territorial regulations for generic drug prices are likely to become even more stringent, dampening industry revenue growth, according to the 2016 report, State of the Pharmaceutical Industry, by research firm Research and Markets. Under Sherman as CEO and then chairperson, part of the Apotex strategy has been to pursue a series of lawsuits against rivals and the federal government as it seeks to defend its market share.
In any case, Apotex says it remains committed to its Canadian roots, with 21 facilities across the country. “As employees, we are proud of his tremendous accomplishments, honoured to have known him, and vow to carry on with the Apotex purpose in his honour,” the company stated on its website.
A statement from Jim Keon, president of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association, said the organization and member companies are “devastated” by the news, calling Sherman an icon and pioneer in the Canadian generic pharmaceutical industry “who made an enormous contribution to affordable and accessible medicines for Canadians and people across the globe.”