ICN shares gain ground in trading

Paul Clinton

Unveiling a restructuring plan, hiring a new slate of corporate

officers and beating Wall Street earnings estimates made Thursday a

blue-ribbon day for ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc.

The Costa Mesa company’s stock rose 30.3% in heavy trading on the

New York Stock Exchange, closing out the day at $11.99 per share, up

$2.79.

The string of announcements came after months of restructuring in

which the company, headquartered in a North Costa Mesa office

complex, trimmed jobs and watched several leaders walk out the door.

“These moves are designed to refocus the company,” spokesman Steve

Hawkins said. “It’s to return the business to its core business.”

Company leaders said they plan to sell the company’s Eastern

European operation and a handful of smaller divisions that don’t

relate to drug development.

During the restructuring, the company laid off 190 employees in a

10,000-person worldwide workforce. No jobs were cut in Costa Mesa,

Hawkins said.

ICN is best known for Ribavirin, a hot-selling drug for hepatitis

patients. The company spun off Ribapharm Inc. to sell the drug via a

marketing agreement with Schering-Plough Corp.

On Thursday, ICN leaders reported a $74.9-million net loss, or 90

cents per share, compared with an $11.7-million loss, or 14 cents per

share, a year ago.

ICN said it received $63.4 million in royalties from

Schering-Plough from Ribavirin sales.

The company also announced a new slate of corporate leaders. The

board named Robert O’Leary, interim chairman and chief executive, to

the permanent post. Timothy Tyson, an executive at GlaxoSmithKline,

was tabbed as president and chief operating officer, and Bary Bailey,

an executive from PacifiCare Health Systems, took over as chief

financial officer.

Company founder Milan Panic left ICN in June.

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment and politics. He may be

reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at paul.clinton@latimes.com.