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Merit Medical President Joseph Wright will resign effective Jan. 3, following unspecified allegations about his conduct, the company said Monday.
Chairman, CEO and founder Fred Lampropoulos was reappointed president.
Merit said it received notice of the allegations before Wright’s resignation, and its independent directors and counsel conducted an investigation. The allegations were unrelated to the company’s operations or financial performance, the Utah-based company said.
Wright has been with the company for nearly two decades and was named president in May, with responsibility for global commercial, marketing and manufacturing operations. Before that, he was chief commercial officer.
In December 2023, Merit said it was developing a CEO succession plan to prepare for Lampropoulos’ retirement at the end of 2025. At the time of Wright’s promotion to president, the company said it was continuing the process of identifying internal and external CEO candidates.
The cardiovascular and endoscopy device maker has been an active acquirer over the past 18 months. In November, Merit closed the purchase of Cook Medical’s lead management portfolio for about $210 million in cash. The deal followed its $105 million acquisition of Endogastric’s acid reflux treatment.
Merit also paid $100 million last year to buy dialysis catheters and a sealant system from Angiodynamics and $32.5 million for a central venous access catheter from Bluegrass Vascular Technologies.
In 2020, the company agreed to settle a Department of Justice investigation into allegations it made improper payments to physicians and hospitals, paying $18 million to resolve the claims. The company denied the allegations.
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