CEO Joseph Papa Calls Valeant Pharmaceuticals a ‘Distracted Organization’

Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) CEO Joseph Papa said at the company's annual shareholder meeint on Tuesday that the embattled drug maker is a 'distracted organization.' Papa, who took on the role as CEO six weeks ago, said the past nine months have been challenging - especially amid SEC investigations, which Papa said the company will cooperate with. 'First, you have to stabilize the company, then you focus on turning around the company and then ultimately you look to transform the company,' he added. Papa said he will recruit top talent to Valeant, focus on research and development, fix its dermatological business and grow its Salix division, which produces a gastrointestinal drug. Papa also purchased $5 million worth of Valeant stock on Friday, amounting to roughly 202,000 shares. TheStreet's Scott Gamm reports from Wall Street.