GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) is a British multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Brentford, London. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham, GSK was the world's seventh largest pharmaceutical company as of 2015, after Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Novartis, Merck, Hoffmann-La Roche and Sanofi.
AstraZeneca plc is an English-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company. In 2013, it moved its headquarters to Cambridge, UK, and concentrated its R&D in three sites: Cambridge; Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA for work on biopharmaceuticals; and Mölndal in Sweden, for research on traditional chemical drugs. AstraZeneca has a portfolio of products for major disease areas including cancer, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, infection, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation.
Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Paris, France, as of 2013 the world's fifth-largest by prescription sales. The company was formed as Sanofi-Aventis in 2004 by the merger of Aventis and Sanofi-Synthélabo, which were each the product of several previous mergers. It changed its name to Sanofi in May 2011. The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.
Shire Plc was a Jersey-registered specialty biopharmaceutical company. Originating in the United Kingdom with an operational base in the United States, its brands and products included Vyvanse, Lialda, and Adderall XR. Shire was acquired by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company on 8 January 2019.
Chiron Corporation was an American multinational biotechnology firm based in Emeryville, California that was acquired by Novartis on April 20, 2006. It had offices and facilities in eighteen countries on five continents. Chiron's business and research was in three main areas: biopharmaceuticals, vaccines, and blood testing. Chiron's vaccines and blood testing units were combined to form Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, while Chiron BioPharmaceuticals was integrated into Novartis Pharmaceuticals. In 2014, Novartis completed the sale of its blood transfusion diagnostics unit to Grifols and announced agreements for the sale of its vaccines unit to GlaxoSmithKline.
Biocon Limited is an Indian biopharmaceutical company based in Bangalore, India. The Company manufactures generic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that are sold in over 120 countries [no proof provided] across the globe, including the developed markets of the United States and Europe. It also manufactures novel biologics, as well as, biosimilar insulins and antibodies, which are sold in India as branded formulations. Biocon's biosimilar products are also sold in both bulk and formulation forms in several emerging markets [provide reference]. In research services, Syngene International Limited (Syngene), a publicly listed subsidiary of Biocon.
ViroPharma Incorporated was a pharmaceutical company that developed and sold drugs that addressed serious diseases treated by physician specialists and in hospital settings. The company focused on product development activities on viruses and human disease, including those caused by cytomegalovirus (CMV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. It was purchased by Shire in 2013, with Shire paying around $4.2 billion for the company in a deal that was finalized in January 2014. ViroPharma was a member of the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index and the S&P 600.
Vernalis Research develops and applies fragment and structure-based methods to drug discovery, and has generated cell active lead compounds and development candidates against biological targets in oncology, neurodegeneration, anti-infectives and inflammation.
Actavis Generics is a global pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing, manufacturing and marketing branded pharmaceuticals, generic and over-the-counter medicines, and biologic products. Actavis has a commercial presence across approximately 100 countries. The company has global headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and administrative headquarters in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey, United States.
Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D., is a biomedical entrepreneur.
The pharmaceutical industry in the United Kingdom directly employs around 73,000 people and in 2007 contributed £8.4 billion to the UK's GDP and invested a total of £3.9 billion in research and development. In 2007 exports of pharmaceutical products from the UK totalled £14.6 billion, creating a trade surplus in pharmaceutical products of £4.3 billion.
Evotec SE is a publicly listed drug discovery and development company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. The company operates globally, largely through external alliances with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions, patient advocacy groups, and venture capitalists. As of September 2018, Evotec had a market capitalization of €3.29 billion and a pipeline of more than 100 partnered programs in discovery, pre-clinical development and clinical development.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics for genetically defined diseases. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2016, Forbes included the company on its "100 Most Innovative Growth Companies" list.
Axovant Gene Therapies is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company that develops gene therapies to treat neurological disorders. The company is headquartered in New York City and is incorporated in Basel, Switzerland. The company was founded by former hedge fund analyst Vivek Ramaswamy in 2014 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Roivant Sciences.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals is a publicly traded pharmaceutical company based in Carlsbad, California, United States. The company was founded in 1989 by Stanley Crooke, a former GlaxoSmithKline head of research, with a goal to commercialize antisense therapy.
Vernalis plc was a UK-based pharmaceuticals business headquartered in Winnersh, with research in Cambridge, and with a Berwyn, PA, US-based commercial operation, Vernalis Therapeutics Inc., focusing on the sales and marketing of slow-release formulations of prescription cough and cold medicines. Tuzistra XR was the first launched product which arose from this strategy, however sales did not reach expectations. As a result, the strategy was abandoned and the company was put up for sale. Vernalis plc was listed on AIM until its acquisition by Ligand Holdings (UK) Ltd, a subsidiary of Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LGND) on 10 October 2018.
