Alvogen is an American pharmaceuticals company founded in 2009. In 2014, a controlling stake in the company was acquired by

CVC Capital Partners CVC Capital Partners is a Luxembourg-based French private equity and investment advisory firm with approximately US$133 billion of assets under management and approximately €157 billion in secured commitments since inception across American, E ...

and

Temasek Holdings Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited, or simply Temasek, is a Singaporean state holding company owned by the Government of Singapore. Incorporated on 25 June 1974, Temasek owns and manages a total of US$496.59 billion (S$671 billion) in assets u ...

. Alvogen has about 350 different medical and non-medical products, and both produces its own products and markets the products of brand name pharmaceutical companies.

History

Alvogen was founded in 2009 by Robert Wessman, who steppe
down
from his position as CEO of

Actavis Actavis Generics (formerly known as Watson Pharmaceuticals and Actavis plc, prior to the acquisition of Irish-based Allergan Inc) is a global pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing, manufacturing and marketing branded pharmaceuti ...

in order to found the company. Soon after its founding it had 200 products in development. Since 2012, Alvogen has acquired three different companies in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

(Alvogen Korea), where it operates as Lotus Pharmaceuticals (which Alvogen purchased in 2014 for $200 million) and is listed on Taipei Stock Exchange (1795.TT). In 2015, Alvogen acquired DreamPharma for $187 million. It is also the parent company of Norwich Pharmaceuticals, which does the firm's manufacturing. In 2015, a controlling interest in Alvogen was acquired by

and the Singapore sovereign fund Temasek. As of 2017, the company had 2800 employees spread over thirty-five countries. In 2016, Alvogen also acquired the US company County Line Pharmaceuticals for $300 million. In 2017, Alvogen was valued at $4 billion.

Pharmaceuticals

Alvogen markets 350 different products including

generic drugs A generic drug is a pharmaceutical drug that contains the same chemical substance as a drug that was originally protected by chemical patents. Generic drugs are allowed for sale after the patents on the original drugs expire. Because the active ...

, branded medicines,

biosimilar A biosimilar (also known as follow-on biologic or subsequent entry biologic) is a biologic medical product that is almost an identical copy of an original product that is manufactured by a different company. Biosimilars are officially approved v ...

products,

cosmetics Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protec ...

, and

food supplements A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in orde ...

, for areas including

oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

cardiology Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular he ...

pulmonology Pulmonology (, , from Latin ''pulmō, -ōnis'' "lung" and the Greek suffix "study of"), pneumology (, built on Greek πνεύμων "lung") or pneumonology () is a medical specialty that deals with diseases involving the respiratory tract ...

, and

neurology Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal ...

. Much of its products for European markets are manufactured at a factory in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

, and packaged in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

. Companies that market their products through Alvogen or have sold their generic drugs to Alvogen for sale, include

Bayer Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of business include pharmaceutica ...

Mylan Mylan N.V. was a global generic and specialty pharmaceuticals company. In November 2020, Mylan merged with Upjohn, Pfizer's off-patent medicine division, to form Viatris. Previously, the company was domiciled in the Netherlands, with princip ...

, Natco, and

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 Pfize ...

. In 2017, Alvogen partnered with Vivus to provide the anti-obesity drug phentermine/topiramate to the South Korean market and partnered with Omega Bittner to provide products in the

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

market. In 2017, Alvogen also became the first company to bring a generic

oseltamivir Oseltamivir, sold under the brand name Tamiflu, is an antiviral medication used to treat and prevent influenza A and influenza B, viruses that cause the flu. Many medical organizations recommend it in people who have complications or are at h ...

to the US market. That year, Alvogen had 75 additional products under review with the

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food s ...

for approval for sale in the US market.

Alvotech

Alvogen has a subsidiary company called Alvotech that researches biosimilars, which was founded in 2013 by Alvogen founder Robert Wessman. It expects to launch its product line in 2020, committing $300 million to its research and development. Alvotech is based out of Iceland, and it has four research and production sites across Europe.

Controversies

In November 2022, Alvogen and a former executive settled a dispute over allegations of bullying made the previous year. In September 2021, Swedish doctor Essam Mansour, who invested $500,000 in Alvogen in 2009, accused Robert Wessman as the CEO of Alvogen of excluding him from participation in the company and of presenting his views at company meetings without his authorisation. Wessman denied doing so.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Pharmaceutical companies based in New Jersey Pharmaceutical companies established in 2009 Pharmaceutical companies of South Korea Companies listed on the Korea Exchange Temasek Holdings