Friday, February 6, 2009

Phase Forward CFO Weismann to retire

By Mass High Tech staff

Clinical trials management company Phase Forward Inc. reported solid revenue growth in its year-end financial report and also announced that Rodger Weismann will step down as chief financial officer of the Waltham-based company as of June 1, 2009.

Christopher Menard, Phase Forward’s vice president of finance, will replace Weismann as CFO at that time, according to the company. Following his retirement from the CFO role, Weismann will serve in a part-time capacity as advisor to Phase Forward (Nasdaq: PFWD) in various areas, such as strategic planning and corporate development.

For 2008, Phase Forward generated revenue of $170.2 million, a 27 percent increase from $134.3 million in 2007. The company’s net income, however, was $13.8 million for 2008, compared to $29.2 million in 2007.

In October, Paul Bleicher, founder of Phase Forward stepped down from his day-to-day operational responsibilities, including serving as chairman of the board. He was replaced as chairman by CEO Robert Weiler.

In September, Phase Forward acquired Radnor, Pa.-based Clarix LLC for $40 million in cash. Clarix makes web-based clinical trial software, focusing on interactive response technology for managing data during studies.

Phase Forward provides integrated data management for clinical trials and drug safety. The company’s products and services have been used in clinical trials from Boston Scientific Corp., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Harvard Clinical Research Institute and sanofi-aventis, among others.