Valeant Pharmaceuticals International has named Joseph C. Papa to become Valeant's chairman and chief executive officer. Papa is expected to join Valeant by early May. Papa will join Valeant from Perrigo company, a global healthcare supplier that develops, manufactures and distributes over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription (Rx) pharmaceuticals, where he served as chairman and chief executive officer. Papa, who will also join Valeant's board of directors, will succeed J. Michael Pearson, who is expected to remain as CEO and a director until Papa arrives at Valeant.

Papa has more than 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical, healthcare services and specialty pharmaceutical industries, including 20 years of branded prescription drug experience. Papa has been CEO of Perrigo since 2006 and was appointed as chairman of the board of directors of Perrigo in 2007. During his tenure, he led dramatic and consistent growth across the company, building it into a global leader with net sales of more than $5 billion. Prior to Perrigo, Papa served from December 2004 to October 2006 as chairman and chief executive officer of the Pharmaceutical and Technologies Services segment of Cardinal Health. From 2001 to 2004, he served as president and chief operating officer of Watson Pharmaceuticals. While at Novartis and Pharmacia/Searle, he was responsible for overseeing the successful launches of Diovan, Celebrex and Lotrel.

Robert Ingram, chairman of the board, said, "The Board has conducted a thorough search process and believes that Joe is the ideal leader for Valeant at this time.  He has a strong shareholder orientation, a background in science, and an unmatched track record of accomplishments, highlighted by his ability to lead companies through times of transition and drive excellence across commercial, manufacturing and R&D platforms. In addition, fostering an ethical culture and creating opportunities for professional development have always been high priorities for Joe, and we look forward to Joe's arrival at Valeant."

Papa has held management positions at DuPont Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacia, G.D. Searle & Company and Novartis. Papa serves as a director of Smith & Nephew, a developer of advanced medical devices.