DUBLIN, Ireland — Joseph Ciaffoni has been named president of U.S. branded pharmaceuticals at Endo International plc.

Endo said Ciaffoni is slated to start in the new post on Aug. 15. He joins the company from Biogen, where he was senior vice president of the global specialty medicines group.

“I am thrilled to be joining Endo at a time of such significant opportunity for the business,” Ciaffoni stated. “I look forward to leading Endo’s U.S. branded pharmaceutical business, driving the development and execution of Endo’s branded strategy and accelerating key growth drivers while, ultimately, helping improve patients’ lives.”

Ciaffoni takes the reins from Brian Lortie, whom Endo announced in May would step down as U.S. branded pharma president upon the appointment of a successor. Lortie joined Endo in 2009.

“We are excited to announce the addition of Joe to the Endo executive team. His industry experience is extensive and includes building commercial businesses, leading multifunction organizations and achieving stellar results across primary care, specialty and rare disease markets. His proven track record of success across nearly 20 product launches and the commercialization of more than 70 products will be instrumental as we continue to focus on strategically growing our U.S. branded business,” commented Rajiv De Silva, president and chief executive officer of Endo. “I look forward to Joe’s leadership and contributions to our branded organization and working with him to effectively deliver Endo’s innovative therapies to patients with significant unmet need.”

“Additionally, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Brian Lortie for his continued leadership in this role during the transition,” De Silva added. “We wish Brian much continued success in his future endeavors.”

Prior to joining Biogen Idec in 2012, Ciaffoni was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Shionogi Inc. and president of Shionogi Pharmaceuticals. Before that, he served as vice president of sales at Schering-Plough (now Merck) and held several commercial leadership roles at Sanofi-Synthelabo (now Sanofi) and Novartis.