* Says CEO Wesley Wheeler left company
* Names Peter Bigelow interim CEO
* Company looks for more experienced CEO, says Chairman
* Shares up as much as 11 pct (Recasts; adds chairman, analyst comments; share movement)
By Gowri Jayakumar
BANGALORE, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Contract drugmaker Patheon Inc<PTI.TO> said its chief executive for three years, WesleyWheeler, left the company, as the Canadian firm begins to look for aCEO to drive revenue.
Patheon, which provides contractdevelopment and manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical industry,said it named Peter Bigelow, president of its North Americanoperations, as interim CEO.
"Now our focus is more on revenuegrowth, and some strategic business... and the company could benefitfrom someone who has more experience in that leadership role," ChairmanRamsey Frank told Reuters.
Last year, Switzerland's Lonza Group<LONN.VX> withdrew a $460 million offer to buy Patheon afteropposition from JLL Partners, which owns a majority stake in thecompany.
Chairman Frank, who is also a managing director atJLL, had then said the private-equity firm was keen to help Patheonregain stability after months of takeover talk.
"Transitioningto a new CEO who has strengths in strategic partnering and businessdevelopment would definitely be a positive for Patheon at this point intime," said James Kuo, an analyst with Dundee Securities.
Withthe company set to report fourth-quarter results in about two weeks,the analyst said he was wary of the possible implications of aleadership change before results, and that he continues to see weaknessin the early stage clinical research organization.
The company'sshares, which shed about 10 percent on Tuesday, were up about 11percent at C$2.26 on Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.(Reporting by Gowri Jayakumar in Bangalore; Editing by Vyas Mohan andVinu Pilakkott)