Endo International plc is an American Irish-domiciled generics and specialty branded pharmaceutical company that generated over 93% of its 2017 sales from the U.S. healthcare system. While Endo's management, operations, and customers are almost exclusively U.S.–based, in 2013 Endo executed a

corporate tax inversion A tax inversion or corporate tax inversion is a form of tax avoidance where a corporation restructures so that the current parent is replaced by a foreign parent, and the original parent company becomes a subsidiary of the foreign parent, thus mo ...

to Ireland to avoid U.S. corporate taxes on their U.S. drug sales, and to avail of Ireland's corporate tax system.

History and Acquisitions

Endo was created as a result of a

management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena o ...

from DuPont Merck in 1997 led by Carol Ammon. In 2009, Endo bought Indevus Pharmaceuticals to diversify into

endocrinology Endocrinology (from '' endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental event ...

and

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 ...

. The company entered the male

hypogonadism Hypogonadism means diminished functional activity of the gonads—the testes or the ovaries—that may result in diminished production of sex hormones. Low androgen (e.g., testosterone) levels are referred to as hypoandrogenism and low estroge ...

market later in 2010 with Fortesta 2% gel. In November 2013, Endo agreed to purchase Paladin Labs Inc for about $1.6 billion to gain access to the Canadian market as well as expand into emerging markets. Endo used the 2013 acquisition of Paladin Labs, and Canadian tax laws, to execute a

to Ireland. In July 2015, ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' noted Endo was using Ireland's lower tax rate to acquire U.S.–based life sciences firms and relocate them to Ireland's tax regime (i.e. they could afford to pay more to acquire U.S. competitors). In October 2014, Endo said it would buy Auxilium Pharmaceuticals for $2.6 billion along with its testosterone replacement therapy products. In 2015, Endo acquired the specialty generics and sterile injectables company Par Pharmaceutical for $8.05 billion. In 2018, Endo settled over 1,200 lawsuits related to its testosterone replacement therapy, Testim, and its undisclosed side effects.

Acquisition attempts

In early 2014, Endo sought to acquire NuPathe, a speciality pharmaceutical developer, for $105 million. However, Teva prevailed in this acquisition with a substantially higher bid.

Bankruptcy

In 2022, Endo's stock fell below $1 as the company faced restructuring of its $8 billion of debt. On August 17, 2022 Endo International Plc filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after reaching a $6 billion deal with some of its creditors.

Opioids

Endo is one of the companies named in lawsuits by the states of Ohio, Missouri and Mississippi as responsible for the US opioid epidemic. Its 10-K statement indicates that a majority of the company's US revenue in 2016 was derived from the sale of prescription pain killers, predominantly

opioid Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. Medically they are primarily used for pain relief, including anesthesia. Other medical uses include suppression of diarrhea, replacement therapy for opioid use ...

s. On June 8, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a press statement in which it announced that it requested Endo to withdraw its opioid drug, oxymorphone hydrochloride (Opana ER), from the market. Opana has been linked to outbreaks of HIV, hepatitis C and serious blood disorders. It was the first time that the FDA had "taken steps to remove a currently marketed opioid pain medication from sale due to the public health consequences of abuse." In 2021, New York Attorney General

Letitia James Letitia Ann James (born October 18, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician. She is a member of the Democratic Party and the current Attorney General of New York, having won the 2018 election to succeed appointed Attorney General Barbara U ...

filed a lawsuit against Endo and several other opioid manufacturers for their alleged contribution to the opioid epidemic in New York.

References

External links