Valeant Appoints Howard Schiller Interim CEO

Drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International on Wednesday named Howard Schiller as interim chief executive officer to replace Michael Pearson, who has been on medical leave due to pneumonia.

"J. Michael Pearson remains in the hospital where he is being treated for severe pneumonia, and as the timing of his expected return is uncertain, he will be on a medical leave of absence until further notice," Valeant said in a statement.

Schiller was Valeant's chief financial officer from December 2011 to June 2015 and is now on the company's board. Before Valeant, he worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs for 24 years.

Robert Ingram, a Valeant director since December 2010, will be chairman, the Canadian company said.

Valeant shares were down 3 percent at $97.19 in premarket New York trading. Reports broke on Tuesday evening of the appointment of a CEO to replace the management team that had been running Valeant since Pearson was hospitalized in late December.

(Reporting by Caroline Humer in New York and Amrutha Penumudi in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey and Lisa Von Ahn)