Chattem, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTT), the Chattanooga-based leading marketer of branded over-the-counter health and beauty aid products, announced today that Dr. Donald Kay Riker has been appointed Vice President of Research & Development and Chief Scientific Officer.
Dr. Riker brings to Chattem nearly 20 years of leadership experience in clinical-regulatory affairs, licensing and innovative OTC product development both at Richardson-Vicks and Procter & Gamble Healthcare, officials said.
Since 1992, Dr. Riker has worked in P&G's Global Healthcare facility in Mason, Ohio as an Associate Director and P&G Fellow. In 1990 Dr. Riker was appointed Associate Director, Clinical Development, Procter & Gamble Healthcare reporting to then VP/R&D James Sorrentino, Ph.D. During his nearly two decades of association with consumer product development he has worked on some its most recognized brands, including Nyquil(R), Dayquil(R), Vicks Vaporub(R) and Formula 44(R). Dr. Riker has authored numerous clinical trials and publications including a 1994 publication on the common cold in the NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE. Dr. Riker and his father, Walter F. Riker, Jr., MD, the former Revlon Professor of Pharmacology at Cornell University and Richardson-Vicks board member, served as drug consultants to the National Football League in the early 1980's.
Dr. Riker graduated from The Trinity School in New York City and received his B.A. from the University of Kansas in 1969. In 1968 Dr. Riker was a member of the NSF/US Navy's US Antarctic Research Program stationed at McMurdo and Cape Crozier. After two years as a Fellow at Rockefeller University in New York, he earned his Ph.D. in neurobiology at Cornell University in 1977. Dr. Riker was awarded an NIH post-doctoral fellowship at the Yale University School of Medicine to train in the pharmacology laboratories of Robert Roth, Ph.D. and Paul Greengard, Ph.D., a recent recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Three years later he was appointed to the pharmacology faculty at Yale and the West Haven Veterans Administration Medical Center in Medicine and Psychiatry. In 1982, he joined the R&D division of Richardson-Vicks, Inc. in Shelton, CT.
Dr. Riker is a member of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, American Society for Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, American Society of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, Drug Information Association, Licensing Executives Society, Infectious Disease Society of America, Sigma Xi, Society of Neuroscience, the Yale Club of New York City and is listed in American Men & Women of Science and Who's Who in Science and Engineering.
Chattem, Inc. is a leading marketer and manufacturer of branded consumer products including health, beauty and skin care products. The Company's products target niche market segments and are among the market leaders in their respective categories across food, drug and mass merchandisers. OTC health care products include: the Gold Bond(R) line of medicated powders, creams and lotions; topical analgesics, including Icy Hot(R), Flexall(R), Sportscreme(R), Aspercreme(R), Arthritis Hot(R), Capzasin-P(R) and Capzasin-HP(R); menstrual internal analgesics Pamprin(R) and Premsym PMS(R); and Herpecin-L(R) lip balm. Skin and beauty care brands include: Mudd(R) facial masques, pHisoderm(R) acne and facial washes, Sun-In(R) hair lightener, Ultra Swim(R) shampoo and conditioner, and Bull Frog(R) sunscreen products. Nutritional supplements include: the Sunsource(R) brand including Garlique(R), Rejuvex(R), Propalmex(R), New Phase(R) and Omnigest-EZ(R). Chattem also markets Dexatrim Natural(R) and Ephedrine-free Dexatrim Natural(R) dietary supplements. Chattem conducts a portion of its global business through subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Canada.
Nyquil(R), Dayquil(R), Vicks Vaporub(R) and Formula 44(R) are registered trademarks of The Procter & Gamble Company.