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Jonathan Goodman, founder and former CEO of Paladin Labs Inc.Pierre Charbonneau

Jonathan Goodman, the founder and former chief executive of Paladin Labs Inc. who was seriously injured in a bicycle accident last August, is returning to the company as chairman of the board.

Mr. Goodman has been recuperating from the accident and "is doing really well," said chief financial officer Samira Sakhia. He has been meeting with management of the Montreal pharmaceutical company over the last few months and this "basically formalizes" his return to involvement with the firm, she said.

But he is still building his strength, she said, and it is not yet certain whether he will return to Paladin full time as CEO. Interim CEO Mark Beaudet will continue in that role for the time being.

Ted Wise, who has been chairman, will remain as a director of Paladin.

Analyst Pooya Hemami of Desjardins Securities said Mr. Goodman's return will be good for Paladin. "We believe the company will benefit from Mr. Goodman's deep knowledge and experience in the Canadian pharmaceutical sector," he said in a note.

Mr. Goodman founded the company in 1996, and it now distributes dozens of products ranging from prostate cancer treatments to birth control pills to wart medications.

It focuses on acquiring the Canadian rights to specialty brand-name drug products, and has been on an acquisition spree in recent years. However, it lost out last fall in a high profile bidding war with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. to acquire Cold-FX maker Afexa Life Sciences Inc.

Paladin's shares have more than doubled in the past three years.

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