Servier Laboratories (French: Laboratoires Servier, often abbreviated to Servier) is an international
pharmaceutical company governed by a non-profit foundation, with its
headquarters
Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...
in
France (
Suresnes).
The consolidated turnover for the 2018 financial year was €4.2 billion.
Servier is the leading French independent pharmaceutical company, and the second largest French pharmaceutical company worldwide. It has branches in 149 countries, achieving 82% of its sales outside France.
The company reportedly invests a little under 25% of its turnover in
research and development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...
, which occupies 3,000 of its 22,000 employees worldwide. The company's production sites produced 853 million drug boxes in 2013.
[
The Servier Clinical Support Unit in Gidy (near Orléans), which produces drugs for ]clinical trials
Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...
, is the largest unit of its kind in Europe. Servier Laboratories is a full member of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).
In 2018, Servier finalized the acquisition of Shire’s oncology branch in Boston and named David K. Lee as CEO. The official opening of Servier's new U.S. headquarters took place in 2019.Mediator
Mediator may refer to:
*A person who engages in mediation
*Business mediator, a mediator in business
* Vanishing mediator, a philosophical concept
* Mediator variable, in statistics
Chemistry and biology
*Mediator (coactivator), a multiprotein ...
, an amphetamine-based Servier drug originally developed for weight loss in people with diabetes but often prescribed off-label as a dieting aid, was withdrawn from the market after being linked to 500–2000 deaths in France.[Un doute sur la «sécurité» du Mediator dès 1998 - Libération](_blank)
/ref> Further investigations found that many previous safety alerts on that drug had been either missed or covered up, possibly due to the improper influence of the company.
Product portfolio
Notable products:
* Gliclazide (Diamicron, Diamicron MR) — antidiabetic drug
* Indapamide (Fludex SR, Natrilex SR, Lozide) — diuretic
* Ivabradine (Procoralan) — antianginal drugs
* Perindopril (Coversyl) — ACE inhibitor
Angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors) are a class of medication used primarily for the treatment of hypertension, high blood pressure and heart failure. They work by causing relaxation of blood vessels as well as a decrease i ...
* Strontium ranelate (Protelos) — osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to bone fragility, and consequent increase in fracture risk. It is the most common reason for a broken bone ...
agent
* Tianeptine (Stablon) — antidepressant, indirect alteration of AMPA and NMDA glutamate
Glutamic acid (symbol Glu or E; the ionic form is known as glutamate) is an α-amino acid that is used by almost all living beings in the biosynthesis of proteins. It is a non-essential nutrient for humans, meaning that the human body can syn ...
receptor activity
* Trimetazidine (Vastarel MR) — antianginal drug.
Other products:
*Agomelatine
Agomelatine, sold under the brand names Valdoxan and Thymanax, among others, is an atypical antidepressant most commonly used to treat major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. One review found that it is as effective as other a ...
(Valdoxan, Melitor, Thymanax)
*Almitrine
Almitrine (marketed as Duxil by Servier) is a diphenylmethylpiperazine derivative classified as a respiratory stimulant by the ATC. It enhances respiration by acting as an agonist of peripheral chemoreceptors located on the carotid bodies. The ...
(Duxil, Vectarion)
* Amineptine (Survector, Maneon, Directim)
* Benfluorex (Mediaxal)
* Carbutamide (Glucidoral)
* Daflon 500
*Fenspiride
Fenspiride (INN, brand names Eurespal, Pneumorel and others) is an oxazolidinone spiro compound used as a drug in the treatment of certain respiratory diseases. The pharmacotherapeutic classification is antitussives. In Russia it was approved fo ...
(Pneumorel)
*Fotemustine
Fotemustine is a nitrosourea alkylating agent used in the treatment of metastatic melanoma. It is available in Europe but has not been approved by the United States FDA. A study has shown that fotemustine produces improved response rates and but ...
(Muphoran)
* Fusafungine (Locabiotal)
* Gliclazide (Diamicron)
* Indapamide (Natrilix, Tertensif, Lozide)
* Pegaspargase (Oncaspar) — Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the lymphoid line of blood cells characterized by the development of large numbers of immature lymphocytes. Symptoms may include feeling tired, pale skin color, fever, easy bleeding or bruisin ...
treatment
* Perindopril (Coversyl, Prestarium)
* Perindopril/indapamide (Preterax, Coversyl Plus)
* Piribedil (Trivastal retard)
*Rilmenidine
Rilmenidine is a prescription medication for the treatment of hypertension. It is marketed under the brand names Albarel, Hyperium, Iterium and Tenaxum.
Form and composition
Each tablet contains 1.544 mg rilmenidine dihydrogen phosphate, an a ...
(Hyperium)
* Tianeptine (Coaxil, Stablon)
* Sodium alginate (Pseudophage)
*Sulbutiamine
Sulbutiamine (brand names Arcalion, Enerion) is a synthetic derivative of thiamine (vitamin B1). In France, it is used to treat symptoms of weakness or fatigue. It is also sold as a dietary supplement. Sulbutiamine was discovered in Japan as pa ...
(Arcalion)
*Tertatolol
Tertatolol (Artex, Artexal, Prenalex) is a medication in the class of beta blockers, used in the treatment of high blood pressure. It was discovered by the French pharmaceutical company Servier and is marketed in Europe.
Tertatolol has also been ...
(Artex)
* Vitamins (Vitathion)
Collaborative research
As well as internal research and development activities, Servier undertakes publicly funded collaborative research projects with industrial and academic partners. One example, in the area of non-clinical safety assessment, is the InnoMed PredTox.Symphogen Symphogen is a biotechnology company located in Copenhagen, Denmark that develops protein drugs based on recombinant monoclonal antibody mixtures. These drugs are different from the polyclonal antibody, polyclonal antibodies, as each antibody in the ...
in 2020.
Controversy
Servier Laboratories has been the object of worldwide scandal for creating and distributing a weight-loss drug called Mediator, which may have killed up to 2,100 people.
The movie ''150 Milligrams
''150 Milligrams'' (french: La Fille de Brest, ''lit.'' The Girl of Brest) is a 2016 French drama film directed by Emmanuelle Bercot. It was screened in the Special Presentations section at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. The film ...
'', by director Emmanuelle Bercot, features Dr. Irène Frachon discovering that Mediator pills cause heart valve problems/deaths and how in 2009 she starts an uphill battle against the producer and the French health authorities.
In March 2021, Servier was sentenced to a fine of 2.7 million euros for aggravated deception and involuntary manslaughter, however it was acquitted of fraud charges. The court also ordered the company to pay several hundred million euros in damages to the 6,500 plaintiffs, and one of its leading managers was sentenced to four years on probation. The French medical agency ANSM was fined 300,000 euros for failing proper supervision.''Mediator drug: French pharmaceutical firm fined over weight loss pill''
BBC, 29 March 2021
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Pharmaceutical companies established in 1954
1954 establishments in France
French brands
Suresnes