Taiho Oncology Names Timothy Whitten President

On Jan 5, 2018

Taiho Oncology, Inc. in Princeton, a subsidiary of Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Japan), announced the promotion of Timothy Whitten from senior vice president and chief operating officer to president, effective January 1. In his new role, Whitten will assume leadership responsibility for corporate, commercial and clinical development-related functions at Taiho Oncology, as well as hold operational responsibility for Taiho Pharma Canada, Inc. and Taiho Pharma Europe, Ltd.

Whitten will continue to report to Taiho Oncology’s departing president, Eric C. Benn, who will remain chief executive officer until his retirement on April 1, at which time Whitten also will be named CEO. At that time Whitten will report directly to Masayuki Kobayashi, president and representative director, Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

“As I planned my retirement after nearly a decade at Taiho and 40 years in the pharmaceutical industry, Tim was an obvious choice to take our company to the next level of clinical development and commercial excellence in the West, and to support our quest to become a top 10 oncology company globally,” said Benn. “Under Tim’s leadership, we have made great strides in establishing our global presence in the oncology pharmaceutical arena, and we have an exciting future ahead of us as we continue to focus on patients with cancer through the development of our robust global pipeline and product commercialization.”

Whitten joined Taiho Oncology in 2013 as senior vice president and chief commercial officer to oversee the company’s commercial functions and build Taiho Pharmaceutical’s first commercial business unit in the West. Whitten also was responsible for development and execution of the company’s strategy for the successful launch of Lonsurf® (trifluridine and tipiracil) Tablets, Taiho Oncology’s first approved product in the United States. Mr. Whitten was promoted to senior vice president and chief operating officer in 2017, adding human resources to his responsibilities, as well as operations of Taiho Pharma Canada, Inc.

“It is an honor to take on the role of president at Taiho Oncology and build on the remarkable accomplishments that Eric has made to the company over the last nine years,” said Whitten. “Eric leaves behind an extraordinary legacy at Taiho Oncology and our employees owe him a debt of gratitude and wish him and his wonderful family well as he starts the next chapter of his life. I look forward to working with my colleagues at Taiho to ensure that patients continue to benefit from our products now and in the future.”

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