Indian pharmaceutical giant Jubilant Organosis Ltd., which acquired Hollister-Stier Laboratories LLC about 14 months ago, jettisoned two of the Spokane-based drug makers top executives late last month for undisclosed reasons.


It was not a termination. It was a separation from the organization, and it has created some real exciting opportunities for the company, says Kirk Wood-Gaines, Hollister-Stiers vice president of human resources and communications.


Rick Lapointe, president of the companys contract manufacturing business unit, and Craig Mastenbaum, its vice president of business development, were the latest of four members of Hollister-Stiers executive team to depart in recent months.


CEO Anthony Bonanzino left at the end of May to pursue other business interests, and CFO Dick Freeman resigned earlier in the year for personal reasons. One member of the companys former core executive team still remaining is Jeff Milligan, who had been its vice president of technical operations. Wood-Gaines says Milligan has taken over Lapointes manufacturing-related duties and has had the word technical removed from his job title.


Wood-Gaines declines to discuss the details of Lapointes and Mastenbaums exodus, but says there has been some coinciding administrative restructuring designed to reflect Jubilants preferred management style. Such an executive shakeup is inevitable, and its proving to be a popular thing among the companys workers, he asserts.


Along with expanding Milligans responsibilities, Jubilant has removed the interim tag from a leadership committee that was asked to step in during the transition created by Bonanzinos resignation, and that committee of four, as its called, now will be driving the business, Wood-Gaines says. He says he and Milligan are members, as are Jason Keene, vice president of Hollister-Stiers allergy business unit, and William Huss, its director of corporate finance.


The corporate shuffling hasnt disrupted the companys operations, he says.


Its been pretty remarkable. Not only has there not been a disruption; theres been almost a renewed focus, he says. Theres a pretty positive environment in the facility right now. Not to sound like a clich, but its full speed ahead.


The high-level shakeup comes as the contract drug manufacturer is experiencing strong employment growth and spending huge sums to expand its productions capabilities here, but is being pushed by Jubilant to grow its revenues even faster.


Wood-Gaines declines to discuss revenue growth, other than to say that were tracking well to budget.


However, Bonanzino said in an interview with the Journal four months ago that Hollister-Stier has been averaging overall revenue growth of 22 percent a year over the past five years, and that Jubilant had challenged each of its units to achieve between 30 percent and 40 percent growth this fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2009.


Wood-Gaines says Hollister-Stier now has about 520 employees, up from 480 four months ago, and has budgeted to hire about 20 more employees over the rest of this fiscal year. Located at 3535 N. Regal in northeast Spokane, it makes pharmaceuticals for other companies through its contract manufacturing unit, and its separate allergy-products unit accounts for about 30 percent of its sales.


Hollister-Stier last month dedicated a new manufacturing linepart of an $18 million additionthat company officials had said would allow it to fill roughly 75 million vials a year, or more than double its earlier capacity. Wood-Gaines says another round of facility-expansion projects is nearing approval and might get the go-ahead as early as next month.


Hollister-Stier Laboratories was formed in 1999 when a group of managers bought the plant from Bayer Corp. Under various owners, the plant has operated in Spokane since 1921.


Contact Kim Crompton at (509) 344-1263 or via e-mail at kimc@spokanejournal.com.