Healthcare >> CEO Interviews >> March 24, 2003
CHARLES J. CASAMENTO is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
of Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He joined RiboGene, Inc., in June
1993. On November 17, 1999, RiboGene and Cypros merged to form Questcor
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The company currently has five products on the
market in the US. In the fourth quarter of 2003, driven by the
introduction of a new product, Nascobal, Questcor revenues hit a record
level and the company recorded its first profitable quarter with net
income of $324,000. Mr. Casamento closed 37 partnership, product
acquisition, R&D collaborations and merger transactions with Questcor.
Previously, Mr. Casamento was President and Chief Executive Officer of
Interneuron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which he co-founded in February 1989.
From 1986 to 1989, he was Senior Vice President at Genzyme Corporation.
From 1983 to 1986, he was Vice President, Business Development and
Planning at the Critical Care Division of American Hospital Supply
Corporation, and from 1970 to 1983 he held managerial positions with
Johnson & Johnson, Hoffmann-LaRoche and Sandoz. Mr. Casamento received
an MBA in 1971 from Iona College, New Rochelle, New York and a BS in
Pharmacy in 1968 from Fordham University College of Pharmacy in New York
City. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Cortex
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in Irvine, California; SuperGen Inc. in Dublin,
California; and the Catholic Medical Mission Board, a non-profit
organization, in New York, New York which serves the medical needs of
people in Third World countries. He is a licensed pharmacist in the
states of New York and New Jersey. Profile
TWST: Would you give us the background of QuestcorPharmaceuticals?
Mr. Casamento: Questcor is a company that is marketing
pharmaceutical products in hospitals in critical-care and acute-
care