Aptalis was a company in the

pharmaceutical industry The pharmaceutical industry discovers, develops, produces, and markets drugs or pharmaceutical drugs for use as medications to be administered to patients (or self-administered), with the aim to cure them, vaccinate them, or alleviate symptoms. ...

. In January 2014, the company was acquired by

Forest Laboratories Forest Laboratories was a company in the pharmaceutical industry incorporated in Delaware, with its principal office in New York City. It was known for licensing European pharmaceuticals for sale in the United States. On July 1, 2014, the compan ...

(acquired by

Allergan Allergan plc is an American, Irish-domiciled pharmaceutical company that acquires, develops, manufactures and markets brand name drugs and medical devices in the areas of medical aesthetics, eye care, central nervous system, and gastroenterology. ...

) for $675 million. Through a series of acquisitions, the company is now a

contract development and manufacturing organization A contract manufacturing organization (CMO), more recently referred to (and more commonly used now) as a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) to avoid the acronym confusion of Chief Medical Officer or Clinical Monitoring Organ ...

and rebranded as Adare Phama Solutions, headquartered in

Lawrenceville, New Jersey Lawrenceville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Lawrence Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States.

History

Merger of predecessor companies: Axcan and Eurand

Axcan specialized in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. Formerly traded publicly on

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

, Axcan was acquired by

TPG Capital TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American investment company based in Fort Worth, Texas. The private equity firm is focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital. TPG manages investment funds in growth c ...

in 2008. Eurand Pharmaceuticals was a producer and

contract manufacturer A contract manufacturer (CM) is a manufacturer that contracts with a firm for components or products (in which case it is a turnkey supplier). It is a form of outsourcing. A contract manufacturer performing packaging operations is called copacker ...

of sustained release dosage forms or taste-masked pharmaceutical

dosage form Dosage forms (also called unit doses) are pharmaceutical drug products in the form in which they are marketed for use, with a specific mixture of active ingredients and inactive components (excipients), in a particular configuration (such as a cap ...

s. Both Axcan and Eurand produced and marketed versions of the drug

pancrelipase Pancreatic enzymes, also known as pancreases or pancrelipase and pancreatin, are commercial mixtures of amylase, Pancreatic lipase family, lipase, and protease. They are used to treat malabsorption syndrome due to certain Exocrine pancreatic insu ...

, which is used in the treatment of symptoms related to

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. O ...

. In 2011, Eurand Pharmaceuticals and Axcan Pharma merged to form Aptalis.

Product launches

In June 2011, the company received approval from the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

to sell a low strength version of ZENPEP (

) capsules formulated for infants with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency due to

. On January 9, 2012, the company announced an agreement to market RECTIV, an ointment for the treatment of

anal fissure An anal fissure is a break or tear in the skin of the anal canal. Anal fissures may be noticed by bright red anal bleeding on toilet paper and undergarments, or sometimes in the toilet. If acute they are painful after defecation, but with chronic ...

, in the United States. On January 18, 2012, the company announced that its partner,

Gilead Sciences Gilead Sciences, Inc. () is an American biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Foster City, California, that focuses on researching and developing antiviral drugs used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, influenza, and CO ...

, received approval for the oral powder formulation of Viread (

tenofovir disoproxil Tenofovir disoproxil, sold under the trade name Viread among others, is a medication used to treat chronic hepatitis B and to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use with other antiretrovirals. It may be used for preven ...

). On September 3, 2013, the company launched PYLERA capsules ( Bismuth subcitrate/metronidazole/tetracycline), which, in combination with

omeprazole Omeprazole, sold under the brand names Prilosec and Losec, among others, is a medication used in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcer disease, and Zollinger–Ellison syndrome. It is also used to prevent upper g ...

, is indicated for the treatment of patients with

helicobacter pylori ''Helicobacter pylori'', previously known as ''Campylobacter pylori'', is a gram-negative, microaerophilic, spiral (helical) bacterium usually found in the stomach. Its helical shape (from which the genus name, helicobacter, derives) is though ...

infections.

Acquisition of the company by Forest Laboratories

In January 2014, Forest Laboratories (now part of

) announced that it had agreed to acquire Aptalis for $2.9 billion in cash. Aptalis withdrew its planned

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

after the announcement. In April 2015,

acquired Aptalis Pharmaceutical Technologies and the company was renamed Adare Pharmaceuticals. In September, 2020, Thomas Lee Partners and Frazier Healthcare acquired Adare Pharmaceuticals and turned into a

References

{{Authority control Defunct pharmaceutical companies of the United States Defunct companies based in New Jersey 2014 mergers and acquisitions Pharmaceutical companies established in 2011 Pharmaceutical companies disestablished in 2014 Pharmaceutical companies based in New Jersey