NEW YORK (AP) — Valeant Pharmaceuticals CEO J. Michael Pearson said Monday that he does not know when he'll return to work after being hospitalized with severe pneumonia last month, but he said he's "on the road to recovery."
Pearson, 56, has been out on medical leave since last month. The troubled Canadian pharmaceutical company appointed three executives to take over Pearson's role in December, then named Howard Schiller as interim CEO this month.
When he will return remains uncertain," Pearsonsaid in a letter to employees made public by Valeant Monday.
"I look forward to being back at work when able," he wrote.
Pearson's medical leave comes at a rough time for the company. Valeant is under scrutiny for its drug pricing policies, as well as its relationship with mail-order pharmacy Philidor. Last month, the company slashed its 2015 financial outlook and posted a 2016 earnings outlook that came below Wall Street expectations.
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is scheduled to hear testimony from Valeant Pharmaceuticals as well as Turing Pharmaceuticals, another drugmaker besieged by criticism about drug pricing.
Turing CEO Martin Shkreli was indicted last month on securities fraud charges stemming from an earlier, unrelated drug company. Shkreli, out on $5 million bail, has taunted the Congress, tweeting images of the subpoena he was sent ordering him to appear.
Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rose $2.38, or 2.7 percent, to $90.98 Monday morning. Its shares are down about 40 percent in the last year.
