Valeant CEO Michael Pearson Takes Medical Leave Of Absence; Stock Plunges

(RTTNews) - Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (VRX, VRX.TO) announced that chairman and chief executive officer Michael Pearson will be on a medical leave of absence, effective immediately.

In Monday's pre-market trading, VRX is down $8.21 or 7.19% to $105.94.

Valeant confirmed last week that Pearson had recently been hospitalized and was being treated for a severe case of pneumonia.

The company today said that its board has created an Office of the Chief Executive Officer, which will include Robert Chai-Onn, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Ari Kellen, Executive Vice President and Company Group Chairman, and Robert Rosiello, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, to serve in an interim capacity.

In addition, the Board of Directors has created a Committee to oversee and support the Office of the CEO and will include Robert Ingram, Lead Independent Director, Mason Morfit, President, ValueAct Capital, and Howard Schiller, former Chief Financial Officer for Valeant.