MARLEY SEAMAN AP Health Writer NEW YORK (AP) — King Pharmaceuticals Inc. in 2008 paid its chief executive a little more than half his compensation from the previous year, largely because of a decline in stock and options awards, according to an Associated Press analysis of a regulatory filing. Brian Markison’s 2008 compensation totaled $4.8 million, down from the $9 million he received the year before. Markison, who also serves as president, drew a salary of about $981,000 for the year, an increase of 6 percent from his 2007 salary of $923,000. He also received stock and option awards valued at $2.7 million on the date they were granted, compared with similar awards of $6.2 million received in 2007. However, the stock options Markison received in 2008 currently have little value because King shares currently trade below the options’ exercise price of $8.91. The value of Markison’s performance-based cash bonus fell 45 percent to about $981,000 from $1.8 million. Markison also received other compensation of $125,000, down from $163,000 the previous year. Other compensation included travel on the company jet, financial planning assistance, a contribution to his 401(k) and tax reimbursements. The Associated Press formula is designed to isolate the value the company’s board placed on the executive’s total compensation package during the last fiscal year. It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. The calculations don’t include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which reflect the size of the accounting charge taken for the executive’s compensation in the previous fiscal year. Shares of Bristol, Tenn.-based King, which focuses on pain drugs, rose 4 percent in 2008. Throughout the year, the company faced weak or declining sales of key drugs due to generic competition. In December, King bought smaller rival Alpharma Inc. for $1.6 billion. The buyout gave King the rights to Alpharma’s pipeline, including an abuse-resistant painkiller called Embeda.