Cephalon CEO on leave

Cephalon chairman and CEO Frank Baldino is taking a medical leave of absence, with his responsibilities being temporarily transferred to chief operating officer J Kevin Buchi. The biotech company hopes that Baldino will return later this year and declined to comment on his medical condition.

Baldino, who founded the company, is 56 years old. He has been Cephalon's CEO since the company was launched 20 years ago and became chairman of the board in 1999. Under Baldino's leadership, Cephalon has launched eight products in the US and has earned a place on the Fortune 1000 annual ranking of America's largest corporations.

Before founding Cephalon, Baldino was a senior research biologist in the medical products department at EI duPont de Nemours & Company, where he was responsible for developing research strategies for identifying novel neuropharmaceutical agents. He holds a PhD in pharmacology from Temple University.

Buchi was tapped to fill the newly-created role of chief operating officer earlier this year, after a 20-year tenure with the firm that included 14 years as chief financial officer.  He joined Cephalon as controller in March 1991 and held several financial positions before being appointed chief financial officer. Earlier in his career, he held a number of financial positions with EI duPont de Nemours.