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Heather Bresch

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Heather Bresch
Bresch 2015 Headshot
Bresch in 2015
Born
Heather Renée Manchin

(1969-06-27) June 27, 1969 (age 55)
Morgantown, West Virginia, U.S.
Other namesHeather Kirby[1]
Alma materWest Virginia University (BA)
OccupationBusinesswoman
TitleFormer CEO of Mylan
Spouses
Douglas Kirby
​
(divorced)​

  • Jeffrey Bresch
Children4
Parent(s)Gayle Conelly (mother)
Joe Manchin (father)

Heather Bresch (née Manchin; born June 27, 1969[2]) is an American business executive. In 2012, she was named as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Netherlands-based pharmaceutical company Mylan, becoming the first woman to run a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company.[3] Bresch retired in 2020, upon the closing of Mylan’s combination with Upjohn. Bresch has been a central figure in two controversies: a 2007 accusation of inflating her resume with an unearned MBA degree, and as the CEO of Mylan during the 2016 controversy over pricing of the company's EpiPen products. In 2015, she was listed as #22 in Fortune magazine's “Most Powerful Women” list.[4]

Bresch is the daughter of former West Virginia Governor and current U.S. Senator Joe Manchin.

Early life and education

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Born Heather Renée Manchin, in Morgantown, West Virginia, Bresch grew up in Fairmont and Farmington, West Virginia, in a Roman Catholic family of partial Italian and Czech descent.[5] She is the daughter of Gayle Conelly Manchin and Joe Manchin, who was a prominent politician throughout her childhood and was the senior United States senator from West Virginia until November 6, 2024.[6]

Bresch attended Fairmont Senior High School in Fairmont, West Virginia,[7] and graduated from West Virginia University (WVU) in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in political science and international relations.[8] She also landed her first job in 1991, working as a clerk for Mylan.[9]

MBA controversy

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Main article: West Virginia University M.B.A. controversy

In 2007, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Bresch had claimed to have an MBA degree from West Virginia University, but the university disputed that.[10] The university subsequently awarded her an EMBA despite her having completed only 26 of the required 48 credits. Her father was governor of the state of West Virginia at the time.[11]

In the ensuing controversy, the university announced in April 2008 that it would rescind Bresch's degree. Michael Garrison, WVU president at the time, was reported to be "a family friend and former business associate of Bresch" and a former consultant and lobbyist for Mylan.[10][12] After a faculty vote of no confidence, Garrison and several university officials subsequently resigned.[11][13]

Career

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Early work

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In 1992, Bresch started working as a clerk in a factory owned by Mylan, a generic drug company, and rose through the company to become the chief executive officer in 2012.[14] At a WVU basketball game in 1992, Bresch's father, politician Joe Manchin, mentioned his daughter's job search to Mylan CEO Milan Puskar, and the company soon after offered her a position in the quality control department of a factory in Morgantown, before eventually promoting her to the executive level.

Government relations and advocacy

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From 2002 to 2005, Bresch served as Mylan's director of government relations.[15] She contributed to the development of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, which created Medicare Part D, a prescription-drug benefit.[16]

In 2006, Bresch testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging to lobby for changes to the law that would prevent pharmaceutical companies from raising challenges to the introduction of generic competitors by filing citizen's petitions with the FDA, and that would prevent pharma companies from undercutting the profits of generic drug companies by making deals for authorized generics to be introduced.[17]

When Mylan expanded internationally, Bresch noticed that Mylan's U.S.-based pharmaceutical manufacturing plant had full-time staff from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) devoted to it, whereas facilities abroad had not been inspected by the FDA for more than a decade.[18]

Bresch persuaded several of Mylan's competitors to support what became the Generic Drug User Fee Act, which she proposed to lawmakers in 2010.[19] Under the law the generics industry would pay the FDA fees of $300 million to get their drugs approved, and in return the FDA would inspect foreign drug manufacturing facilities at the same rate as U.S-based facilities.[18][19][20][21] Economic analysis of the Act showed that it increased the cost of some generic drugs and benefitted the largest pharmaceutical companies at the expense of smaller companies.[22]

Mylan executive

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Bresch has served in several executive roles at Mylan, such as senior vice president of corporate strategic development,[23] Head of North American Operations,[24] chief operating officer, and chief integration officer.[21][25]

Bresch led the integration of Matrix Laboratories Limited and Merck KGaA's generics and specialty pharmaceutical businesses with Mylan's operations.[21] She was chair of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) for two terms.[26] Bresch was appointed president of Mylan in 2009[21] and joined Mylan's board of directors in March 2011.[27]

Bresch's appointment as chief executive officer (CEO) was announced in 2011, and she officially took the position in January 2012.[21] Bresch was the first female CEO of a large pharmaceutical business.[28] At the time, she was one of 18 female CEOs of a Fortune 500 company.[29] After seeing how few female candidates were available for positions that require a background in science and math, she became more interested in promoting math and science education among young girls.[30]

Bresch was recognized in Esquire's 2011 "Patriots of the Year" list for her work pushing for the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA).[31] She was named one of Fortune magazine's "50 Most Powerful Women In Business" in 2014.

Also in 2014, Bresch and Mylan announced a $5.3 billion acquisition of Abbott Laboratories[32] as part of a corporate tax inversion plan to re-organize the company in the Netherlands and move its domicile to a country with lower taxes.[33] Bresch said the decision was necessary to "maintain competitiveness against pharmaceutical manufacturers that had already executed similar inversion strategies."[31] The company completed the complex tax inversion in February 2015.[34] The inversion—which formally resulted in the creation of a new company, Mylan N.V., with 78% of its shares held by former Mylan Inc. shareholders and 22% of its shared held by Abbott Labs shareholders—was expected to immediately drop Mylan's U.S. corporate tax rate to 21% (from 24%) in the first year "and into the high teens over the next three to five years."[34] The New York Times said that it was somewhat "disconcerting" for a company that benefits from large government contracts to renounce their citizenship for tax benefits.[31] Proxy filings show that from 2007 to 2015, Bresch's compensation rose from $2,453,456 to $18,931,068, a 671% increase in pay.[35][36]

EpiPen pricing and retirement

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In 2016, Mylan's pricing of the EpiPen, used to treat anaphylaxis (severe allergic reactions), was severely criticized. Mylan had secured the rights to the nearly 50-year-old EpiPen as part of the Merck KGaA deal in 2007.[35] At that time annual sales were around $200 million.[37] Bresch launched an advertising campaign to increase awareness of "EpiPen" as a treatment for anaphylaxis; the company also successfully lobbied the FDA to broaden the label to include risk of anaphylaxis and in parallel, successfully lobbied Congress to generate legislation making EpiPens available in schools and other public places. The company hired the same lobbyists that Medtronic had used for its defibrillator legislation.[37][38] From 2007 to 2016, Mylan increased the price of EpiPens by 461 percent, from about $100 for a package of two pens to about $600.[36] By the first half of 2015, Mylan had an 85% market share of such devices in the U.S.,[37] and in that year sales reached around $1.5 billion and accounted for 40% of Mylan's profit.[39] The price increase was met with widespread criticism of Bresch and Mylan.[35][40][41][42] Bresch explained at the 2016 Forbes Healthcare Summit that Mylan's price increases were justified by the many improvements she claimed the company had made to the product.[43] Amid this backlash, Bresch led Mylan to introduce a generic version of the device which sells for half the price of the brand-name device.[44][45] The generic version in 2016 remained more expensive than the original brand version of EpiPen prior to Mylan's purchase of the rights, even when accounting for inflation.[46]

In July 2019, Bresch announced that she would retire in 2020 after Mylan merged with Upjohn.[14] The merger was completed in November 2020 and Bresch stepped down.[47] The new company was named Viatris.[47] According to the Pittsburgh Business Journal, when she left Mylan, she was the second most highly paid executive in the area of Pittsburgh, and received a "golden parachute" estimated at $30.8 million.[48]

In 2021, a case was ongoing to determine whether Mylan had attempted to monopolize the EpiPen market, with both Mylan N.V. and Bresch being sued on racketeering claims and anti-trust claims. The lawsuit, which consolidated several consumer cases, was moved to federal court in Kansas City in 2017. In February 2020, the lawsuit moved ahead as a nationwide class action. On June 24, 2021, a federal judge tossed the racketeering claims and some of the antitrust claims, also dropping RICO claims against Bresch. The case went on trial on September 7, 2021.[49] On September 7, 2021, Ryan Grim of The Intercept reported that during an ongoing racketeering case involving Mylan and Bresch,[50] "newly released court documents show [Bresch] discussing a deal with Pfizer to eliminate a chief competitor to EpiPen, clearing the way for major price hikes."[51] The 2010 and 2011 email discussions, unsealed by the judge, showed Bresch's assistant discussing divesting from Adrenaclick after the closure of the Pfizer/King deal. They "also show Bresch approving a scheme to force customers, captured by the company’s monopoly, to purchase two EpiPens at once, regardless of medical need."[50][needs update]

Honors and awards

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Bresch was ranked #31 in Fortune magazine's 2014 "50 Most Powerful Women" list.[16][28][52] That same year, she won the EY Global Impact of the Year Award.[53] Bresch was the 2017 Albert Schweitzer Leadership Award honoree at an awards gala hosted by the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Foundation.[54]

Bresch served as chair of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association’s board of directors in 2016, 2005, and 2004, and as vice chair in 2003 and 2006.[55]

Personal life

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Bresch is married to Jones Day lawyer Jeffrey J. Bresch. She was previously married to West Virginia businessman Douglas Kirby. She lives with her husband and four children in Sewickley Heights, Pennsylvania.[5][1][56]

References

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  1. ^ a b Patricia Sabatini and Len Boselovic (December 21, 2007). "MBA mystery in Morgantown". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved February 6, 2015. One of those documents mentions Ms. Bresch -- Ms. Kirby at the time because of her earlier marriage to Douglas Kirby -- by name
  2. ^ "First Born Child". Beckley Post-Herald. Vol. 70, no. 70. Beckley, W.Va. June 30, 1969. p. 5. Retrieved December 11, 2020. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Manchin III of Morgantown, have announced the birth of their first child, a daughter. Born Friday [June 27, 1969] at 3 p.m. in West Virginia University Medical Center... and has been named Heather Renee.
  3. ^ "Mylan Inc". Fortune. Archived from the original on 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  4. ^ Wieczner, Jen (2015-09-11). "Why Wall Street Loves to Hate Mylan's Female CEO". Fortune. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  5. ^ a b Bowman, Nikki (June 11, 2012). "No Generic Success Story". WV Living Magazine. Archived from the original on February 7, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  6. ^ Raby, John (November 6, 2024). "Republican Jim Justice flips US Senate seat from West Virginia after Manchin retirement". Associated Pess. Retrieved November 6, 2024. Jim Justice won a U.S. Senate race from West Virginia on Tuesday, flipping a seat to the Republican Party after Joe Manchin decided not to seek reelection.
  7. ^ King, Joselyn (May 17, 2008). "Garrison: I Need To Stay at WVU". The Intelligencer & Wheeling News Register. Retrieved February 6, 2015. Garrison, a Marion County native, also is a long-time friend of the Manchin family who attended Fairmont Senior High School in Fairmont, W.Va., with Bresch (Subscription required.)
  8. ^ Taube, Aaron (September 6, 2014). "29 People With 'Soft' College Majors Who Became Extremely Successful". Business Insider Indonesia. Archived from the original on February 7, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  9. ^ "Heather Bresch". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  10. ^ a b Ian Urbina, "University Investigates Whether Governor's Daughter Earned Degree", New York Times, January 22, 2008, accessed 2008-04-24
  11. ^ a b "Provost Quits Over Degree to Governor’s Child", New York Times, April 28, 2008.
  12. ^ Boselovic, Len & Patricia Sabatini, "University revokes degree after scathing report on M.B.A. awarded to Bresch", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; accessed April 24, 2008.
  13. ^ "College president to quit over degree scandal", NBC News, June 6, 2008.
  14. ^ a b Gough, Paul (29 July 2019). "Bresch to leave CEO job after Mylan merger with Upjohn". Pittsburgh Business Times.
  15. ^ Bosco, Andrea (April 22, 2014). "Mylan CEO Continues To Expand International Medicine Efforts". WHIRL Magazine. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  16. ^ a b Bowman, Nikki (June 11, 2012). "No Generic Success Story". West Virginia Living. Archived from the original on September 11, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  17. ^ Seaman, John; Landry, John T. (2011). Mylan 50 Years of Unconventional Success. Mylan, Inc. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  18. ^ a b Harris, Gardiner (August 13, 2011). "Deal in Place for Inspecting Foreign Drugs". The New York Times. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  19. ^ a b Clemons, Steve (June 12, 2012). "What it really takes to change Washington". Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  20. ^ Heffernan, Tim. "Esquire's Americans of the year:Patriots". Esquire. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  21. ^ a b c d e Norton, Leslie (March 2, 2013). "Medicine Woman". Barron's. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  22. ^ Berndt, Ernst (April 11, 2018). "The generic drug user fee amendments: an economic perspective". Journal of Law and the Biosciences. 5 (1): 103–141. doi:10.1093/jlb/lsy002. PMC 5912081. PMID 29707218.
  23. ^ Bloomberg Mylan Nv (MYL:NASDAQ GS) Executive Profile: Heather Bresch, bloomberg.com; accessed August 26, 2016.
  24. ^ Jack W. Plunkett (October 2007). Plunkett's Health Care Industry Almanac 2008: The Only Comprehensive Guide To The Health Care Industry. Plunkett Research, Ltd. p. 547. ISBN 978-1-59392-096-8.
  25. ^ Sabatini, Patricia; Boselovi, Len (December 21, 2007). "MBA mystery in Morgantown". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  26. ^ Mamula, Kris (December 20, 2013). "Personalities of Pittsburgh: Heather Bresch". Pittsburgh Business Times. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  27. ^ Mamula, Kris (March 1, 2011). "Heather Bresch named to Mylan board". Pittsburgh Business Times. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  28. ^ a b Jett, Jennifer (Winter 2014). "West Virginia's Leading Lady". West Virginia Executive. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  29. ^ Nixon, Alex (October 27, 2011). "Mylan's Heather Bresch added to brief list of female CEOs". Pittsburgh Tribune.
  30. ^ Fairchild, Caroline (August 28, 2014). "The Broadsheet: August 28th". Fortune. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  31. ^ a b c Sorkin, Andrew (July 14, 2014). "Reluctantly, Patriot Flees Homeland for Greener Tax Pastures". The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  32. ^ Nixon, Alex (September 17, 2014). "Mylan CEO Bresch sets sights on growth". Tribune Business News. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  33. ^ Portillo, Caroline (July 25, 2014). "'Inversion' is a hot button issue, but for Mylan CEO Heather Bresch, it could be a family feud". BizJournals. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  34. ^ a b Patty Tascarella, Mylan inversion deal completed, Pittsburgh Business Times (February 27, 2015).
  35. ^ a b c Parker-Pope, Tara; Rabkin Peachman, Rachel (August 22, 2016). "EpiPen Price Rise Sparks Concern for Allergy Sufferers". The New York Times.
  36. ^ a b Popken, Ben (August 26, 2016). "Mylan Execs Gave Themselves Raises As They Hiked EpiPen Prices". NBC News. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  37. ^ a b c Koons, Cynthia & Robert Langreth. How Marketing Turned the EpiPen Into a Billion-Dollar Business, bloomberg.com, September 23, 2015.
  38. ^ Leahey, Colleen (November 21, 2013). "Mylan CEO Heather Bresch on why she admires Bill Gates". Fortune. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  39. ^ Emily Willingham for Forbes. Aug 21, 2016 "Why Did Mylan Hike EpiPen Prices 400%? Because They Could", forbes.com; accessed August 28, 2016.
  40. ^ Mangan, Dan (25 August 2016). "Mylan CEO Bresch: 'No one's more frustrated than me' about EpiPen price furor". CNBC. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  41. ^ Eunjung Cha, Ariana (August 24, 2016). "Senator's daughter who raised price of EpiPen got paid $19 million salary, perks in 2015". Washington Post. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  42. ^ Edney, Anna; House, Billy (24 August 2016). "The Senator's Daughter Who Raised Prices on the EpiPen". Bloomberg. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  43. ^ Weintraub, Arlene (1 December 2016). "Mylan CEO Bresch Admits 'Full Responsibility' For EpiPen Price Hikes". Forbes. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  44. ^ Mangan, Dan (3 March 2017). "Mylan CEO Heather Bresch says diversification is boosting company after EpiPen controversy". CNBC. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  45. ^ "Mylan CEO on EpiPen drug price controversy: "I get the outrage"". CBS News. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  46. ^ Willingham, Emily. "Why Did Mylan Hike EpiPen Prices 400%? Because They Could". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  47. ^ a b "Mylan completes merger with Upjohn to form Viatris". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  48. ^ Flanders, Laura (July 23, 2021), Closing the Largest Generic Drug Plant in the US Is a Sick Joke, The Nation, retrieved September 9, 2021
  49. ^ Margolies, Dan (June 24, 2021), Kansas Judge Grants Partial Victory To EpiPen Marketer In Suit Over Massive Price Hikes, KCUR, retrieved September 9, 2021
  50. ^ a b Grim, Ryan (September 7, 2021), Heather Bresch, Joe Machin's Daughter, Played Direct Part in EpiPen Price Inflation Scandal, The Intercept, retrieved September 9, 2021
  51. ^ Owermohle, Sarah (September 8, 2021), The budget battles begin, Politico, retrieved September 9, 2021
  52. ^ "31: Heather Bresch". Fortune. 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  53. ^ Oravecz, John D. (21 June 2014). "Ernst & Young names Entrepreneurs of the Year for W.Pa., W.Va. region". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  54. ^ Boutiette, Crystal (17 April 2017). "2017 NYC Albert Schweitzer Awards Honoree-Heather Bresch". Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Foundation. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  55. ^ "Heather Bresch: CEO of Mylan | Mylan". www.mylan.com. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  56. ^ Lott, Ethan (April 26, 2013). "High-end home sales have been going strong over the past three years". Pittsburgh Business Times. Retrieved February 6, 2015. No. 1, 202-204 Scaife Road in Sewickley Heights, was bought by Jeffrey Bresch and Mylan Inc. CEO Heather Bresch from IPEG Inc. Chairman G. Watts Humphrey and Sally K. Humphrey for $2.85 million.
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