Bruce Downey_named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 Winner in the Health Sciences category
Palm Springs, 15 November 2009 – Bruce L. Downey, the former chairman and CEO of Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in Montvale, New Jersey, was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 national winner in the Health Sciences category. Now in its 23rd year, the awards recognize leaders and visionaries who demonstrate innovation, financial success and personal commitment as they create and build world-class businesses.
Downey was recognized for leading Barr Pharmaceuticals for fifteen years, delivering a phenomenal 5,000% increase in share price to investors. Downey was honored at the Entrepreneur Of The Year® gala in Palm Springs – the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. Awards were given in nine additional categories. All Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® winners were selected by an independent panel of judges from approximately 400 regional award recipients.
Barr Pharmaceuticals developed from an ordinary generic drug firm to one that took strategic risks that paid off both in the marketplace and for shareholders. The company was acquired by Teva Pharmaceuticals in December 2008.
From outside attorney to CEO
As an outside attorney working on Barr Pharmaceutical’s legal issues, Bruce Downey had a good working knowledge of the generic drug company’s strengths and weaknesses in the marketplace. In 1993 the board of directors hired him as the CEO, and a year later, named him chairman.
To grow the company, Downey devised a strategy that would refocus Barr Pharmaceuticals’ product line toward generic products with significant barriers to entry. It was a risky strategy, but Downey believed in the value of strategic risk-taking. He credits the research and development group for being able to identify the right drugs to target for development.
The business focus changed, and success followed. Barr Pharmaceuticals was successful in 90% of its patent challenges and grew from two locations to seven, with a presence in 30 countries. The company developed leadership positions in the brand and generic drug markets of cardiovascular, oncology and female healthcare.
An eye for leadership
Downey’s accuracy in identifying leadership qualities in the people he hired at Barr Pharmaceuticals has become an industry standard. No fewer than seven CEOs or COOs now in the pharmaceutical business were once executives at Barr Pharmaceuticals.
Downey today is still extremely active, sitting on the boards of two established health sciences companies and two start-ups. He works part-time at the venture capital firm New Spring, in Philadelphia. He is also a driving force for research into disorders of the spinal column, and a major contributor to construction of the Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona, among other philanthropic activities.
Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 national finalists in Health Sciences category
In addition to Downey, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® national finalists in the Health Sciences category are:
Dr. Adam D. Singer, CEO of IPC The Hospitalist Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: IPCM), in North Hollywood, California, a leading national hospitalist physician group practice company
Lisa G. Shaffer, PhD, president and CEO of Signature Genomic Laboratories of Spokane, Washington, which performs microarray-based diagnostic genetic testing of chromosome abnormalities in individuals with unexplained mental retardation and birth defects.
Charles W. Stiefel, chairman and CEO of Stiefel Laboratories, Inc. of Coral Gables, Florida. The world’s largest independent dermatology company was recently acquired by GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK).
Overall Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 National Winner
Tom Adams, president and CEO of Rosetta Stone Inc. (NYSE: RST), was named the Overall Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 national winner.
Video and Photos
To view video clips of all the Entrepreneur Of The Year® winners, please visit the Ernst & Young YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/ErnstandYoungGlobal. Photos of the winners are also available by request.
Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year® awards are pleased to have the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and SAP America as national sponsors
About Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year®
Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year® is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 135 cities in 50 countries.
About Ernst & Young's Strategic Growth Markets Practice
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