Sir Allen McClay

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(21 March 1932 – 12 January 2010) was a Northern Irish multi-millionaire businessman and philanthropist who founded Galen (later

Warner Chilcott Warner Chilcott (formerly Galen) was a company in the pharmaceutical industry based in Rockaway, New Jersey. It was primarily focused on women’s healthcare and dermatology. On October 1, 2013, the company was acquired by Actavis (now Allergan). ...

), a

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

company which was Northern Ireland's first one billion pound business. After resigning from Galen in 2001, he went on to form a second successful pharmaceutical company, the Almac Group.

Career

McClay was born in

Cookstown Cookstown ( ga, An Chorr Chríochach, IPA: �anˠˈxoːɾˠɾˠˈçɾʲiːxəx is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the fourth largest town in the county and had a population of 11,599 in the 2011 census. It, along with Maghe ...

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...

, in 1932 and was the youngest of six children. He attended Cookstown High School and Belfast College of Technology (now

Belfast Metropolitan College Belfast Metropolitan College, also known as ''Belfast Met'', is a further and higher education institution in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The college offers both vocational education and academic qualifications. With over 37,000 enrolments and ...

) later qualifying as a

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

in 1953 after

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...

. In 1955, he joined

Glaxo GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the tent ...

, where he worked for 13 years as a medical rep, before co-founding the company, Galen, with his friend and fellow Pharmacist turned medical rep Bertie Robinson in

Craigavon Craigavon may refer to: * Craigavon, County Armagh, a planned town in Northern Ireland ** Craigavon Borough Council, 1972–2015 local government area centred on the planned town * Viscount Craigavon, title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom ** ...

in 1968. Sir Allen and Bertie Robinson shared many investments together including the Connors Chemists chain and Galen Research. Sir Allen left Galen, which produces

contraceptives Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

and

hormone replacement therapy Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), also known as menopausal hormone therapy or postmenopausal hormone therapy, is a form of hormone therapy used to treat symptoms associated with female menopause. These symptoms can include hot flashes, vaginal ...

drugs, in 2001, having become unhappy with the company's direction after its

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

flotation in 1997. McClay retired from Galen on 31 September, and the following day rented accommodation close to the site Galen occupied for what would become his second successful company, Almac Sciences. McClay purchased five divisions of Galen Holdings plc. and formed Almac in January 2002. Almac provides services including research & development and manufacturing to other pharmaceutical companies such as

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

and

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the ten ...

. The company, whose turnover is £167m, employs more than 1500 people in Craigavon and has expanded into England,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and the United States. In 1973, McClay and Bertie Robinson invested in Connors Chemists, a pharmacy in

Warrenpoint Warrenpoint ( ga, An Pointe) is a small port town and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits at the head of Carlingford Lough, south of Newry, and is separated from the Republic of Ireland by a narrow strait. The town is beside t ...

, which developed into a chain of branches across the UK managed by his brother Howard, and was sold to

The Boots Company Boots UK Limited (formerly Boots the Chemists), trading as Boots, is a British health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom and other countries and territories including Ireland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Thailand a ...

in 1998.

Philanthropy

McClay established the McClay Trust in 1997, a charitable organisation which "support research and development activities within"

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

. The trust has donated £20 million to the university, which has included sponsorship of PhD studentships at the university's Cancer Research centre. The trust also funded the £3.5m McClay Research Centre at the School of Pharmacy which opened in 2002, and contributed money to the building of the new University Library at Queen's, which opened in 2009 and is now named after McClay. Sir George Bain, a former vice-chancellor at Queen's, has described McClay as "the most significant philanthropist Northern Ireland has ever known". In recognition the university commissioned two portraits of McClay by local artist Ian Cumberland, one of which was gifted to his wife the other is on display in the library. McClay was reported by the 2009 ''Sunday Times'' Rich List to be Northern Ireland's sixth richest person, with his wealth estimated at £190 million. In 2009, he used his wealth to establish the McClay Foundation, a charitable trust focused on cancer research. McClay received an OBE in 1994, followed by a

in 2000 for contributions to the pharmaceutical industry in Northern Ireland. In the

New Year Honours List The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

of 2006 he was made

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

for services to business and charity. McClay married his partner Heather Topping in 2009 in the United States. He had no children. He died on 12 January at

Hahnemann University Hospital Hahnemann University Hospital was a tertiary care center in Center City Philadelphia. It was the teaching hospital of Drexel University College of Medicine. Established in 1885, it was for most of its history the main teaching hospital associate ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania. He had been receiving treatment for cancer.

References

External links

* https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9551210 * http://www.midulstermail.co.uk/news/SIR-ALLEN-McCLAY-DIES-IN.5977873.jp {{DEFAULTSORT:McClay, Allen 1932 births 2010 deaths Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania British businesspeople Businesspeople from Northern Ireland Businesspeople in the pharmaceutical industry Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor People from Cookstown People educated at Cookstown High School Businesspeople awarded knighthoods 20th-century British philanthropists