* CEO and founder quits
* Says to take action against company
* Shares up over 5 pct
(Adds analyst comment)
By Tiisetso Motsoeneng
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 8 (Reuters) – South Africa’s Cipla Medpro
said on Monday its chief executive had quit, ending
months of speculation about his suspension and raising questions
about the generic drug maker’s tie-up with Cipla India
.
South Africa’s No.3 drug maker said in a statement that
Jerome Smith had stepped down from the company he founded, after
being suspended in August pending an investigation into charges
against him.
Smith had been due to appear at a disciplinary hearing on
Monday but resigned first, the company said. Shares of Cipla
Medpro, which have been under pressure since Smith’s suspension,
rose nearly 6 percent.
“I have however been driven to take this decision by the
board’s decision to suspend me, to forbid me from coming into
the premises and to thereafter and without any proper foundation
accuse me of a list of misdeeds,” Smith said in a statement.
Smith also said he would take legal action against the
company, but did not give any details.
Continued…
