Dendreon Announces CEO And Chairman Succession Plan
February 1, 2012 - Dendreon Corporation today announced that its Board of Directors has elected John H. Johnson to the position of president and chief executive officer (CEO), to succeed Mitchell H. Gold, MD, who has served as president and CEO for nearly a decade. Dr. Gold has been elected executive chairman and will serve in that role until June 30, 2012, at which point he will continue to serve as a director and Mr. Johnson will become chairman.
Mr. Johnson has been a member of Dendreon's Board of Directors since August 2011 and brings to Dendreon nearly 30 years of experience in the life sciences industry, including serving as president, CEO, and director at Savient Pharmaceuticals, president of Eli Lilly's Oncology Business Unit, CEO of ImClone System, and company group chairman of Johnson & Johnson's Worldwide Biopharmaceuticals.
"As Dendreon continues its evolution into a global oncology company, I am pleased to hand over the reins to John, whose drive and significant global oncology expertise will advance our continued growth as a leading biotechnology company, benefiting our customers, our employees, our shareholders and, most importantly, patients with advanced prostate cancer," said Mitchell H. Gold, MD, executive chairman of Dendreon. "I am proud that our employees at Dendreon have made an indelible mark in cancer care with the discovery, development, and approval of PROVENGE® (sipuleucel-T), the world's first cancer immunotherapy. Our commitment to changing the way that cancer is treated has never been stronger, and I look forward to working with John to accelerate our efforts."
"I am honored to take on this important role to help lead Dendreon into the next chapter of growth, and I have great respect for all that Mitch has accomplished over the past decade in ushering in a new era in medicine for patients with cancer," said John H. Johnson, president and CEO of Dendreon. "With the important progress that has been made with the commercial launch of PROVENGE, I am invigorated by the challenge of taking Dendreon to the next level. I look forward to working with Dendreon's executive team and the Board as we look to build a global, fully integrated oncology business."