John P. Gargiulo Named President and CEO of Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.

PARSIPPANY, N.J., April 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. (DSI) announced today that John P. Gargiulo has been appointed President and CEO of the company. Effective today, Mr. Gargiulo succeeds Joseph P. Pieroni who is retiring after leading Daiichi Sankyo Group's U.S. commercial operations for the past 14 years.

"John's experiences within the pharmaceutical industry for the past 25 years have prepared him well for his new role and responsibility," said Joseph Pieroni, former President and CEO of Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. "He has been instrumental in building and shaping the company since its inception in 1996, and has touched nearly every aspect of our business operations. His broad industry experience enabled him to learn and grow the commercial operations organization."

Mr. Gargiulo most recently served as Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations, where he oversaw U.S. Marketing, Supply Chain, Managed Markets and New Product Planning. After joining the predecessor organization, Sankyo, in 1995, Gargiulo was instrumental in advancing DSI from a joint venture with Parke-Davis to its current status as a leader in hypertension therapy and with an emerging presence in thrombosis and oncology.

"Joe has been a great leader, and has made DSI a successful company by driving excellence through innovation, integrity and accountability -- and by modeling these core company values himself," said Gargiulo, President and CEO of Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. "I am excited about leading DSI through our next company milestones, and fostering a continuing vision of employee excellence that will drive DSI growth and success."

Prior to joining DSI, Gargiulo held several positions at Lederle Laboratories. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the national industry trade association, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA), and the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC), an industry trade group focused on evidence-based medicine.

About Daiichi Sankyo

The Daiichi Sankyo Group is dedicated to the creation and supply of innovative pharmaceutical products to address the diversified, unmet medical needs of patients in both mature and emerging markets. While maintaining its portfolio of marketed pharmaceuticals for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and bacterial infections, the Group is engaged in the development of treatments for thrombotic disorders and focused on the discovery of novel oncology and cardiovascular-metabolic therapies. Furthermore, the Daiichi Sankyo Group has created a "Hybrid Business Model," which will respond to market and customer diversity and optimize growth opportunities across the value chain. For more information, please visit www.daiichisankyo.com

Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, is a member of the Daiichi Sankyo Group.  For more information on Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., please visit www.dsi.com.

SOURCE Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.