Backed by Investment Firms Carlyle and Cypress, Pharmaceutical Executives Create MedPointe Inc. and Complete the Acquisition of Carter-Wallace and its Healthcare Business
Cranbury, NJ – October 1, 2001 – A group of healthcare executives, backed by two leading private equity firms, announced today that it has completed the $408-million acquisition of the Healthcare Business and corporate stock of Carter-Wallace, Inc. (formerly NYSE:CAR). Carter-Wallace, Inc. has changed its name to MedPointe Inc.
This acquisition was led by a syndicate of private equity firms headed by The Carlyle Group and The Cypress Group. The syndicate also included Frazier & Company and Ferrer Freeman Thompson & Co. Through this transaction, the investor group acquired Carter-Wallace, Inc. and its two principal Healthcare Businesses, Wallace Pharmaceuticals, a prescription pharmaceutical division, and Wampole Laboratories, its medical diagnostics division.
The acquisition was funded with more than $500 million in equity and debt commitments, including more than $280 million from the equity investors. Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., which underwrote the initial debt financing commitment, acted as Lead Arranger and Lehman Brothers acted as Co-Arranger for the syndication of $225 million of Senior Secured Credit Facilities in connection with the acquisition. Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. also advised the equity investors.
“The successful completion of this acquisition concludes nearly a year of hard work by our management team, our investors and our employees and marks the birth of a new company,” said Anthony H. Wild, Ph.D., MedPointe Inc.’s Chairman and CEO. “The healthcare businesses of Carter-Wallace have provided MedPointe with strong operating management, an excellent foundation of products and two highly skilled sales forces. Through this acquisition, we have a wonderful starting point towards fulfilling the promise of MedPointe’s core mission: ‘making medicine better.'” MedPointe plans to pursue a variety of business development initiatives including product acquisitions, line extensions, licensing, co-promotion arrangements and reformulations.
The Wallace Pharmaceuticals product line includes the allergy medicine Astelin®, the only prescription antihistamine approved by the FDA for both seasonal allergic rhinitis and non-allergic (vasomotor) rhinitis. The Wallace line also includes the Rynatan/Tussi® cough-cold line, the muscle relaxant Soma® and the anticonvulsant Felbatol®. The Wampole product line includes a range of professional laboratory and physician office diagnostic products. “We believe that specialty products – marketed and managed effectively – offer substantial opportunities that MedPointe can bring to fruition,” explained Dr. Wild. “Not every product needs to be a ‘blockbuster’ drug in order to be a successful part of the healthcare products market.”
On a pro forma basis, for the twelve months ended March 31, 2001, MedPointe Inc. had consolidated net sales of approximately $220 million. As of October 1, 2001, MedPointe Inc. has approximately 525 full-time employees, including 275 in field sales and sales management.
The management team roster of MedPointe Inc. is comprised of senior, seasoned healthcare executives:
- Dr. Anthony H. Wild, Chairman and CEO of the new company, is the former President of the Global Pharmaceutical Sector of Warner-Lambert, where he had worldwide responsibility for the company’s pharmaceutical operations, including research and development. During Dr. Wild’s tenure, he managed Warner-Lambert’s pharmaceutical sales growth from $2.1 billion to $10 billion. In addition, he was responsible for the formation of the Sankyo/Parke-Davis joint venture, the global partnership with Pfizer to market the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor® and the acquisitions of Jouveinal, Agouron, Hickson and gene/Networks. He is a Founding Partner and CEO of MedPointe Capital Partners, LLC, a private equity capital partnership whose goal was to create a leading company in the specialty pharmaceutical arena.
- James S. Burns will serve as President and Chief Operating Officer of MedPointe Inc. He was a former Group President at Becton Dickinson, a founding Vice Chairman of HealthCare Ventures and a Partner at Booz Allen & Hamilton. He is a Founding Partner and Managing Director of MedPointe Capital Partners, LLC.
- John T.W. Hawkins will serve as MedPointe Inc.’s Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and External Affairs. Mr. Hawkins was the former Head of the Global Healthcare Sector at executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates, and previously, an investment banker at Alex. Brown & Sons. He is also a Founding Partner and Managing Director of MedPointe Capital Partners, LLC.
- Paul S. Herendeen, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, brings more than 20 years of experience in the financial services and healthcare industries, most recently as Executive Vice President and Board Member of Galen plc, a public U.K.-based pharmaceutical company.
- Bernardo L. Tafur will serve as MedPointe Inc.’s Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Administration. He was formerly the Senior Vice President, Human Resources of Pfizer Inc.’s Pharmaceuticals Group.
- Beth P. Hecht, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, has more than 14 years of corporate legal experience, having worked as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Warner Chilcott plc, Alpharma Inc. and ChiRex, Inc.
- Thomas G. Gerstmyer will continue as President of Wallace Pharmaceuticals, the flagship pharmaceutical division of MedPointe Inc.
- John Bridgen, Ph.D., will continue as President of Wampole Laboratories, MedPointe Inc.’s medical diagnostics division.
- Gerald L. Messerschmidt, M.D., FACP, will serve as MedPointe Inc.’s Senior Vice President, Medical and Scientific Affairs. Prior to joining MedPointe Inc., he held senior executive positions at C.R. Bard, Inc., DNX Corporation and Ciba-Geigy Corporation.
- Bruce C. Friedman will serve as Corporate Vice President, Supply Chain Management. He previously served as Carter-Wallace Inc.’s Vice President, Operations for the Manufacturing Division.
- Timothy G. Henner will serve as Vice President and Corporate Controller of MedPointe Inc. Previously, he served as Carter-Wallace, Inc.’s Vice President and Controller, Manufacturing and Quality Control.
- Michael A. Tropiano will serve as Vice President and Corporate Treasurer of MedPointe Inc. He served previously as Carter-Wallace, Inc.’s Assistant Treasurer.
MedPointe Inc. has gathered a group of distinguished senior executives to constitute its Board of Directors. Dr. Wild will serve as Chairman of the newly formed board. MedPointe Inc. Board Members will also include Richard U. DeSchutter, retired Chairman and CEO of GD Searle and former Chairman & CEO of DuPont Pharmaceuticals; Ernest J. Larini, former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Warner-Lambert Company; W. Robert Dahl, a Managing Director and Head of Healthcare investing at The Carlyle Group; Kenneth S. Abramowitz, a Managing Director at The Carlyle Group and former healthcare analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. where he covered the medical-supply, hospital-management and HMO industries; and William L. Spiegel, a Managing Director at The Cypress Group who leads the firm’s efforts in the healthcare and financial services sectors. Later this month, it is anticipated that The Cypress Group will nominate another Director for appointment to the Board.
MedPointe Inc. is a privately held company located at Half Acre Road, Cranbury, New Jersey, 08512; 609-655-6000. MedPointe expects to relocate to new corporate offices in Bridgewater, New Jersey in the second quarter of 2002. Its prescription pharmaceutical products division, Wallace Pharmaceuticals, specializes in respiratory, pediatric and central nervous system therapies and maintains manufacturing facilities in Cranbury, New Jersey and Decatur, Illinois. Wampole Laboratories, MedPointe’s diagnostics division, distributes a wide range of immunoassay-based diagnostic tests for use by hospitals, physicians and reference laboratories. For more information on MedPointe, Wallace Pharmaceuticals or Wampole Laboratories, visit www.medpointeinc.com.