Sifers Named 4th President of Imed in 3 Years

Warner-Lambert Co. on Wednesday named longtime employee John Sifers as president of its Imed Corp. subsidiary. He will be the fourth executive to head Imed since it was acquired in March, 1982.

Sifers, a 29-year veteran of the Morris Plains, N.J.-based drug and consumer-products company, replaces Donald E. O’Neill, who remains president of Warner-Lambert’s health-technologies group.

After Warner-Lambert bought the San Diego producer of medical supplies for $465 million, Imed founder and President Richard Cramer resigned and was replaced by O’Neill, who operated the company for about one year.

In late 1983, Richard Schmidt was named president, but he resigned seven months later, with O’Neill again taking the helm.

“Any time you have an acquisition like this, there’s going to be a period of transition,” said Imed spokeswoman Sydnie Smith about the management turnover.

Under O’Neill’s stewardship, Imed concentrated on new product development, Smith said, and the company now has several electronic devices about to hit the market.

Imed recently instituted what it termed “major cost-cutting plans” and laid off 85 of 1,400 employees last month to further trim expenses.

Imed, like other medical device manufacturers, is feeling the effects of reductions in federal Medicare reimbursements to hospitals. Still, Smith said, Imed sales increased in 1984 and are expected to rise again in 1985.