LONDON, May 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC ("Hikma")
(LSE: HIK) (NASDAQ Dubai: HIK) (OTC: HKMPY), the fast growing
multinational pharmaceuticals company, is deeply saddened to
announce that Samih Darwazah, Hikma's Founder and Honorary Life
President, passed away peacefully on Friday, 15 May, in
London at the age of 85. Mr.
Darwazah was a politician, a philanthropist, an entrepreneur and a
business leader who founded Hikma, a company that recently entered
the FTSE100 index and now employs 7,000 people bringing affordable
medicines to the world.
Mr. Darwazah founded Hikma in 1978 in Amman, Jordan. His vision was to bring high
quality and affordable medicines to the world. With the help of his
children, who joined the business in its early days, Hikma grew
from a small factory in Jordan
into the largest regional supplier of pharmaceuticals in the
Middle East and North Africa ("MENA") region. The company also
expanded outside the MENA region, establishing successful
operations in Europe and
the United States. Today Hikma
operates in around 50 countries, selling a broad range of branded
generics, generic injectables, non-injectable generics and
in-licensed patented products. In 2005, the company floated on the
London Stock Exchange and in March
2015 it entered the FTSE 100 index.
Mr. Darwazah was born in Nablus in 1930. One of several
children, his family lived in Jaffa, where his father was a
merchant, for most of his childhood. In 1948, the Darwazah family
left their ancestral home and moved to Jordan. Mr. Darwazah went to study at the
American University of Beirut ("AUB"),
where he met and married his wife, Samira, a fellow AUB student.
After obtaining a B.Sc. Degree in Pharmacy in 1954 and working for
a few years in pharmacy in Jordan
and Kuwait, Mr. Darwazah was
offered a Fulbright Scholarship and went to study at the
St. Louis College of Pharmacy in
Saint Louis, Missouri.
A couple of months after receiving his master's degree in
Industrial Pharmacy, Mr. Darwazah signed on with Eli Lilly. He
worked for the company from 1964 to 1976, first in the United States then in various positions in
the Middle East marketing
division. At the age of 48, after 12 years working for Eli Lilly
and with extensive experience in marketing and management, Mr.
Darwazah decided to return to Jordan and establish his own company - and
Hikma was born.
As an entrepreneur and business leader, Mr. Darwazah became an
influential figure in Jordan,
creating jobs and developing a vibrant local pharmaceutical
industry. He believed strongly that he had a responsibility to
invest in local communities and he became a strong advocate of
corporate responsibility. In 1995, Mr. Darwazah was invited by
Jordan's Prince Zeid Ben-Shaker to serve as Minister of Energy
and Mineral Resources to the late King
Hussein. In later years, he was also a senator, served on
the Advisory Economic Council to His Majesty the King of
Jordan, and founded the Jordanian
Trade Association. As a firm supporter of education and an advocate
for women's rights, Mr. Darwazah established a school for girls in
Al Shoubak in Jordan in 2009,
amongst many other philanthropic endeavours.
In recognition of Mr. Darwazah's remarkable achievements as a
businessman, Ernst and Young named him Middle East Entrepreneur of
the Year in 2007. He was also the recipient of five honorary
doctorates in recognition of his lifetime achievements - from The
St. Louis College of Pharmacy, the
Lebanese American University, Birzeit
University, the American University of
Beirut and the Jordan
University of Science and Technology.
In addition to Mr. Darwazah's significant professional
achievements, he will perhaps be best remembered by all who knew
him as someone who valued family above all else. He surrounded
himself with his four children and his eleven grandchildren. The
supportive "family" culture at Hikma thrives today, ten years after
becoming a public company. He will be sorely missed and always
remembered by all who knew him.
Condolences can be sent to condolences@hikma.com.
About Hikma
Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC is a fast growing multinational group
focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad range of
both branded and non-branded generic and in-licensed products.
Hikma operates through three businesses: "Injectables", "Branded"
and "Generics", based principally in the
United States, the Middle
East and North Africa
("MENA") and Europe. In 2014,
Hikma achieved revenues of $1,489
million and profit attributable to shareholders of
$278 million.
SOURCE Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC