GAITHERSBURG, Md., Feb. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MedImmune, Inc.
(Nasdaq: MEDI) today announced that it has promoted R. Michael Smullen to
senior vice president, sales. In his new role, Mike will assume additional
responsibilities for sales operations, trade and distribution, managed care
and national accounts, and sales training. He will continue to oversee the
infectious disease sales team.
"Over the 12 years that I have worked with Mike, I have greatly valued his
ability to identify, recruit and train outstanding sales professionals and to
motivate them to achieve results that would not be attainable without his
leadership," said David M. Mott, chief executive officer and president. "Over
his tenure at the company, he has brought a clear and consistent vision for
how to build and manage a biotechnology sales organization and he has
consistently embraced and inspired our entrepreneurial culture.
"I look forward to working with Mike and his team to take our sales
organization to the next level as we build a truly world class sales
organization," Mott continued. "Together, we will be working to bring better
tools, training and support to our sales professionals, while maintaining our
historical commitment to an entrepreneurial and accountable sales culture. We
will also be working to increase our customer focus at the highest levels of
the organization and to enhancing cross functional collaboration to ensure
that we bring the full resources of MedImmune to bear for our patients and
customers."
Since joining MedImmune in 1994 as vice president, sales, Mr. Smullen has
been responsible for building the company's sales organization from its
original 14 representatives to what will be more than 400 professionals
following the completion of the company's current expansion. Annual sales have
grown from $35 million in 1994 to more than $1 billion in the United States.
During this time, Mr. Smullen and his sales team successfully launched the
first monoclonal antibody approved in the U.S. for an infectious disease,
Synagis(R) (palivizumab), which has become the ninth most successful biotech
product of all time surpassing $1 billion in annual sales in 2005.
Prior to joining MedImmune, Mr. Smullen served as national sales director
for Synergen, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, where he was responsible for
developing the strategic plan and design for Synergen's first U.S.-based sales
force. Prior to Synergen, Mr. Smullen held the position of national sales
director for Fujisawa U.S.A. He was responsible for building Fujisawa'a first
U.S.-based sales force, and also helped to establish its first managed care
group. Mr. Smullen started his professional career in 1976 as a sales
representative at Boehringer Ingelheim, and spent several years at SmithKline
Beecham in sales, sales training and sales management. Mr. Smullen holds a
bachelor's degree from Norwich University, Northfield, VT.
About MedImmune, Inc.
MedImmune strives to provide better medicines to patients, new medical
options for physicians, rewarding careers to employees, and increased value to
shareholders. Dedicated to advancing science and medicine to help people live
better lives, the company is focused on the areas of infectious disease,
cancer and inflammatory diseases. With more than 2,000 employees worldwide,
MedImmune is headquartered in Maryland. For more information, visit the
company's website at http://www.medimmune.com.
SOURCE MedImmune, Inc.
CONTACT: Investors: Peter Vozzo, +1-301-398-4358 or Media: Clarencia
Stephen, +1-301-398-4073, both of MedImmune, Inc.