When he arrived at Shire’s Basingstoke headquarters in March 2003, Matt Emmens, the drug company’s new American chief executive, reassured staff that he would “not come in like a cowboy, slinging a gun”.
Yesterday Mr Emmens again revealed his pacifist tendencies by settling a key patent dispute with Barr Pharmaceuticals. As part of the deal, Shire will drop a legal action over Barr’s generic version of Adderall XR, a slow-release version of Shire’s top-selling ADHD drug. In return, Barr will hold off selling the copycat drug in the United States until April 1, 2009, unless another company launches a generic version sooner.
After a 30-year career in pharmaceuticals, Mr Emmens is well aware of the tough competition that characterises the industry. Beginning his career with America’s Merck & Co in 1974, Mr Emmens filled roles in almost every sector of the company, gaining sales, marketing and administrative experience. In 1992, he was crucial in the establishment of Astra Merck, the joint-venture between Merck and Astra, the Swedish pharmaceuticals group that would merge as part of AstraZeneca. He later became Astra Merck’s president and chief executive.
In 1999, Mr Emmens joined Merck, the unrelated German pharmaceutical company, setting up its US prescription business, EMD Pharmaceuticals. After rising to become president of Merck’s global prescription pharmaceutical business, based in Germany, he left the company to join the board of Shire in 2003.
A graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey, Mr Emmens also serves as a non-executive director of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.