Chiron Corporation received a welcome boost yesterday after announcing that Jack Goldstein would be its new president and chief operating officer. The biotechnology company, which took a knocking last year after it was unable to provide the requisite flu vaccine for the US market after deficiencies were uncovered at one of its UK plants [[06/10/04b]], saw its share price closed up almost 3% on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange yesterday.
Dr Goldstein has served in this capacity on an interim basis since November 2004 and previously served as president of Chiron’s blood-testing division. As president and COO, he will continue to oversee Chiron’s day-to-day business operations and report to CEO Howard Pien, who will continue to set the direction of the organisation and lead the executive committee, in addition to focusing on the firm’s efforts to remedy the problems at its Liverpool facility, which produces the Fluvirin flu vaccine.
In addition, Chiron has named Daniel Soland as president of its vaccines division, while Gene Walther will head up the blood-testing unit, having served as its acting president since November last year. Mr Soland, who will begin his new role on February 28, previously served as president and CEO of Epigenesis Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing inhaled respiratory medicines.
