Drugmaker Hikma names former Teva executive Olafsson as CEO; shares up

(Reuters) - Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc named former Teva Pharmaceutical executive Sigurdur Olafsson as its CEO, as the Jordan-based drugmaker looks to improve its struggling generics business.

Hikma said its current chairman and CEO, Said Darwazah, would become executive chairman.

Shares of Hikma rose as much as 5 percent in early trading on the London Stock Exchange.

Olafsson's appointment comes at a time when Hikma is facing higher price erosion levels than the rest of the industry that prompted it to lower the revenue guidance for its generics business twice last year.

Hikma, which makes and markets branded and non-branded generic and injectable drugs, has been re-negotiating contracts with suppliers to cut costs to boost profitability at the division.

Olafsson served as the chief executive of the global generics business of Israel-based Teva, the world's biggest generics drugmaker, from 2014 to 2016.

(Reporting By Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier and Amrutha Gayathri)