KV Pharmaceutical names Joseph Mahady as chair

Former Wyeth president Joseph Mahady has joined troubled KV Pharmaceutical as chairman.

Mahady served as president at Wyeth from 2008 until the company's acquisition by Pfizer in 2009.

He spent 30 years at Wyeth, serving in various senior positions, including president of Wyeth-Ayerst, VP responsible for healthcare systems and VP responsible for marketing and sales operations.

His experience beyond Wyeth includes board member positions at Immunex, Albemarle, EKR Therapeutics, Discovery Labs and Cortendo AB.

Mahady joins women's healthcare specialist KV just one month after the company announced it had emerged from bankruptcy.

This financial state was due to the flawed launch of its drug Makena to prevent premature birth.

KV launched the drug in 2011 at a cost of $1,500 a dose or $30,000 for a full year course. However, compounded versions of the drug made in pharmacies were on sale at $10 to $20 a dose.

KV failed to have these versions banned by the FDA, and was forced to drop its price significantly.

The company seems to be back on track, however, after reaching a settlement with Hologic, the original developers of Makena who sold the rights to KV.

Mahady said he was “excited” to be joining KV at the current time.

He said: “There is perhaps no more exciting time in a company's evolution than when it moves beyond adversity and applies the knowledge gained from that experience to strengthen the emerging company. KV is in that position today.”