Milan Panic Starts Up New Venture

Milan Panic, the mercurial former chief executive of ICN Pharmaceuticals, has wasted little time in opening up his latest venture, MP Enterprises, which he said would focus on international business and humanitarian issues.

Panics’ new offices are just blocks away from the company he founded 42 years ago, in the Orange County Performing Arts Center commercial and cultural complex in Costa Mesa. As chairman of ICN, Panic initiated a $1-million pledge of support to the center.

In describing part of the focus of his new effort, Panic said he had recently sponsored a fact-finding mission to the U.S. for a Serbian trade group so that it could study American agricultural techniques.

He said he was considering whether to underwrite the trade group’s efforts to import agricultural products to the United States.

Panic, 72, recently stepped down as chief of ICN after he lost a brutal fight for control of the ICN board. Panic remains on the company’s board and plans to hang on to 1 million shares of ICN stock.

Ronald White