8-K

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): March 8, 2007 (March 8, 2007)

PAR PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization) File Number 1-10827
(Commission File Number) 22-3122182
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

300 Tice Boulevard, Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey
(Address of principal executive offices) 07677
(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (201) 802-4000

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Principal Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Principal Officers.

On March 8, 2007, Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc. (the “Company”) issued a press release announcing that Dr. Melvin Sharoky has been elected to the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”). Dr. Sharoky has served in several healthcare executive positions and currently serves as president and CEO of Somerset Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and as a director of Insmed, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, and Learnwright, LLC, a private e-learning company. There are no arrangements or understandings between Dr. Sharoky and any other person pursuant to which he was selected as a director of the Company, and Dr. Sharoky has no reportable transactions under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K. Dr. Sharoky will be entitled to the same compensation as other directors, as described in the Company’s most recent proxy statement filed with the SEC on April 13, 2006. The Company’s press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

     (d) The following exhibit is furnished with this Current Report on Form 8-K:

Exhibit No.		Description
	99.1	Press Release dated March 8, 2007.

Certain statements in this Current Report on Form 8-K constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. To the extent that any statements made in this Current Report on Form 8-K contain information that is not historical, such statements are essentially forward-looking and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties discussed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including its Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Any forward-looking statements included in this Current Report on Form 8-K are made as of the date hereof only, based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof, and, subject to any applicable law to the contrary, the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Dated as of: March 8, 2007

PAR PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES, INC.                                (Registrant)
/s/ Thomas Haughey
Name:	Thomas Haughey
Title:	Executive Vice President — General Counsel

EXHIBIT INDEX

    The following exhibit is furnished with this Current Report on Form 8-K:

Exhibit No.		Description
	99.1	Press Release dated March 8, 2007

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

Investor Contact:
Stephen J. Mock

Media contact:
Peter Wolf
Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc.
(201) 802-4000

MELVIN SHAROKY ELECTED TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF PAR PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES, INC.

Woodcliff Lake, N.J., March 8, 2007 — Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc. (NYSE:PRX) today announced that Melvin Sharoky, M.D., has been elected to the company’s board of directors. Dr. Sharoky, a physician for more than 30 years and a healthcare executive for more than 20, until recently served as president and chief executive officer of Somerset Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Tampa, Fla.-based research and development company.

“We are fortunate to have Dr. Sharoky as a member of our board of directors,” said John Abernathy, non-executive chairman of the board of directors. “His devotion to medicine and the field of healthcare, as well as his vast experience and expertise, will serve Par well.”

Dr. Sharoky has designed and conducted clinical trials, developed generic and proprietary pharmaceutical products, interacted with numerous government agencies, been instrumental in the structuring of business agreements and served in senior leadership roles at two publicly-held companies, Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he was president, and Circa Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he was president and CEO.

Board certified in internal medicine and as an emergency medicine specialist, Dr. Sharoky began his career in private practice in Baltimore. He later co-developed a program to enhance emergency room services at Prince George’s General Hospital, a regional trauma center in Maryland. In 1986, he turned his attention to management in the healthcare industry when he joined Pharmakinetics Laboratories, Inc. He rose to executive vice president, R&D, at Bolar Pharmaceuticals, Inc, and served as president and CEO of its successor company, Circa Pharmaceuticals, before helping Circa merge with Watson Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Sharoky was awarded a medical degree from the University of Maryland Medical School and holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He also serves on the boards of Insmed, Inc., and Learnwright, LLC, a private e-learning company.

About Par

Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets generic drugs and innovative branded pharmaceuticals for specialty markets. For press release and other company information, visit www.parpharm.com.

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