Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • December 19, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY Alexion Pharma replaces top executives Alexion Pharmaceuticals last week replaced its CEO and another top ex- ecutive, about a month after its report of an internal probe into sales practice and a subsequent launching of a class action lawsuit against the company. CEO David Hallal resigned for personal rea- sons, effective immediately, while CFO Vikas Sinha left Alexion to "pursue other opportuni- ties," the company said in a statement. Hallal had been CEO since early 2015, while Sinha had been CFO since 2005. Alexion said it has hired executive search firm Spencer Stuart to begin the search for a per- manent CEO. Meanwhile, board member David Brennan will succeed Hallal as interim CEO. Hallal also has resigned from the board. Brennan is the former CEO and executive di- rector of AstraZeneca PLC and has been a member of Alexion's board of directors since July 2014. Also, David J. Anderson, the former senior vice president and CFO of Hon- eywell for 11 years, has joined the company as CFO, effective immediately. In November, Alexion disclosed it was investigating sales practices of its Soliris drug following a complaint by a former employee. Shortly thereafter, a shareholder filed a class action lawsuit against the company in connection with the probe, which Alexion now says is nearing completion. BIOSCIENCE Wallingford drugmaker closing up shop in CT Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is pulling up stakes entirely in Con- necticut by the end of 2018 and expanding elsewhere, it announced last week. Its Wallingford research site will close by the end of 2018 as announced in 2015, but BMS no longer has any intent of moving a remaining 500 jobs to a yet-unnamed Connecticut location, the company said. Earlier this month, the company settled for $19.5 million with Connecticut and more than three dozen other states over the alleged mismarketing of its antipsychotic drug Abilify. Besides closing up shop in Connecticut, the firm will phase in closure of its Hopewell, N.J., site by mid-2020 and not renew its lease at a plant in Seattle, Wash., in 2019. MANUFACTURING Niagara Bottling hires 66 for Bloomfield plant Niagara Bottling said Wednesday it had hired 66 people so far for its new Bloomfield plant, with about half the employees coming from Bloomfield and eight surrounding towns. The plant begins production this month, and Niagara officials say they expect to add 80 more jobs by January. The company has received nearly 600 applications for jobs ranging from materials handlers to various high-level mechanical technicians starting at $15 an hour or more, said Lloyd Lirio, plant director. "We were very encouraged by the overwhelming interest in skilled-manufac- turing jobs, and we look forward to growing our team to more than 80 people by January," Lirio said. The plant, which will initially run two bottling lines, is projected to serve a growing product demand in the Northeast. However, the Metropolitan District Commission, which serves the surrounding towns, unanimously voted Dec. 5 to rescind a high-volume water-user discount that Niagara Bottling was expected to leverage for its $73 million plant. EDUCATION Univ. of Hartford names new president Gregory S. Woodward, president of Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis., will become president of the University of Hartford, effective July 1. Woodward has served as president at Carthage since 2012. He replaces Wal- ter Harrison, who will retire on June 30, after serving 19 years as president. The University of Hartford board of regents made the appointment unanimously last week. Woodward will be the university's sixth president in its 59-year history. A composer, musician, athlete and scholar, Woodward has spent nearly four decades working in many roles in higher education. Under his leadership, Car- thage recently completed a 10-year strategic plan, "Carthage in the Year 2025." And he created Carthage's first President's Task Force on Diversity. BANKING & FINANCE CT's 2017 deposit index set at 0.08% Connecticut's bank regulator has left unchanged the 0.08 percent deposit index used to determine statutory interest rates for various consumer accounts. State Banking Commissioner Jorge Perez said the 2017 deposit index is based on average rates paid on savings deposits. The 2017 interest rate for rental-security deposits also was set at 0.08 percent. Under state law, a tenant forfeits their interest for any months that they are more than 10 days late on their rent. Upon moving out, tenants must provide written notice of a forwarding address where the landlord may send their secu- rity deposit with interest. Landlords are required to return tenants' security deposits with interest or give written notice of damages being claimed within 30 days of a tenant moving. GOVERNMENT, POLITICS & LAW State Senate leader Looney finds kidney donor Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) has been matched with a compatible kidney donor and is headed for surgery, his office announced. Looney has lived with ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis that affects the neck and spine, since he was a teenager. The kidney problems are a long- term side effect of taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories to treat the condition. HEALTH CARE Report: CT tied for last in protecting kids from tobacco Connecticut is tied for last nationwide in funding programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a report released last week by a coalition of public health organizations. Connecticut is one of two states, along with New Jersey, that have not bud- geted state funds this year for tobacco prevention and cessation programs, ac- cording to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends Con- necticut spend $32 million on tobacco prevention programs, the report said. Health advocates also are urging Connecticut leaders to increase the state's tobacco sale age to 21. Connecticut will collect $519.7 million in revenue this year from the 1998 state tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend none of it on tobacco prevention programs, the report said. ENERGY Brookings: GDP can grow despite emissions reductions Connecticut and 32 other states managed to "decouple" GDP growth from carbon dioxide reductions between 2000 and 2014, according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution. Connecticut was one of 10 states that led the pack in reducing energy-relat- ed CO2 output between 2000 and 2014, with a reduction of 17.7 percent. Mean- while, Connecticut's GDP grew 10.6 percent over that same 14-year period. Approximately 35 countries have seen a similar decoupling trend, which the report's authors described as "an encouraging juncture in the campaign to limit global warming" that "would seem to license cautious optimism." PURA finalizes UI rate increase The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority last week approved a United Illumi- nating rate increase that will total $57.4 million over the next three years. UI, a subsidiary of Avangrid, had asked for $98 million. The new rates that take effect in January are expected to increase the average monthly residential bill by about 3.3 percent. BY THE NUMBERS 500 The approximate number of jobs Bristol-Myers Squibb no longer intends to keep in Connecticut. 8,321 The number of new businesses that have filed for state registration online since February. $357 The average monthly federal subsidy for Connecticut Obamacare customers, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. 5M The number of passengers that went through Bradley International in the first 10 months of this year, up 1.6 percent. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ Alexion Pharma replaces top executives ■ Univ. of Hartford names new president ■ $23.6M Glastonbury office bldg. sale ■ Wallingford drugmaker closing up shop in CT ■ Bradley working to get Norwegian Air service STAY CONNECTED For breaking and daily Greater Hartford business news go to www.HartfordBusiness.com. HBJ on Twitter: @HartfordBiz HBJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HartfordBiz HBJ on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ the-Hartford-Business-Journal Daily e-newsletters: HBJ Today, CT Morning Blend www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe Weekly e-newsletters: CT Green Guide Weekly, CT Health Care Weekly www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe WEEK IN REVIEW Alexion's New Haven headquarters at 100 College St. David Hallal, CEO, Alexion Pharmaceuticals P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D

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