Caption: Upjohn Co. ChairmanTheodore CooperUpjohn's chairman in hospitalAssociated PressKALAMAZOO - The declining health of Upjohn Co. Chairman Theodore Cooper, who was diagnosed with cancer in January, prompted the board of directors on Wednesday to promote two executives in Cooper's absence.Cooper, 64, was in critical but stable condition Wednesday at the University of Virginia Medical Center with a lung infection and respiratory failure. He had been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer and spent six weeks in the hospital receiving radiation and chemotherapy.He returned to work in early March. Just recently, however, he went back to Virginia for accelerated treatment. The board of directors was notified Tuesday that Cooper had been moved into intensive care."We are all very concerned for Dr. Cooper and his family and disappointed in this setback in what appeared to be a good recovery," said William Mulholland, senior outside member of the board executive committee.In a special meeting Wednesday, the board named Ley Smith president and chief operating officer and William Parfet vice-chairman.The company's stock closed at $22.25 a share, up 25 cents from Tuesday.Smith, previously vice chairman, will as president and COO also assume chief executive officer responsibilities in Cooper's absence.Parfet, previously president, will continue to be responsible for the company's allied health businesses, worldwide manufacturing and finance.Smith joined the worldwide pharmaceutical company as a salesperson in 1958. He became a member of Upjohn's board of directors in 1988 and was promoted to vice chairman in 1991.
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