ALK-Abelló A/S (), also commonly known as ALK, is a Denmark-based

pharmaceutical company 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 sympt ...

which specializes in the development and manufacture of allergy immunotherapy (AIT) products for the prevention and treatment of

allergy Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include Allergic rhinitis, hay fever, Food allerg ...

. It is one of the world’s largest makers of allergy immunotherapy products (also known as ‘allergy vaccines’) with 81% of its revenue coming from sales in Europe.

History

ALK-Abello dates back to 1923 when Denmark’s first

allergen An allergen is a type of antigen that produces an abnormally vigorous immune response in which the immune system fights off a perceived threat that would otherwise be harmless to the body. Such reactions are called allergies. In technical ter ...

extracts were produced at the pharmacy of the

Copenhagen University Hospital Copenhagen University Hospital is a conglomerate of several hospitals in Region Hovedstaden and Region Sjælland in Denmark, together with the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. List of member hospitals *In R ...

. The company was subsequently established as Allergologisk Laboratorium København. The company has since focused on mapping the mechanisms of allergic impact on the immune system in order to develop new and improved allergy therapies. The research focuses on prevention, treatment, and management of allergies, especially hay fever and asthma. In 1925 Juan Abello Pascual founded Abello Pharmaceuticals in Spain. In 1978, ALK released the first standardized line of products for the treatment of allergies. In 1992 ALK and Abello merged. In the 1990s, ALK was the first company to launch

sublingual immunotherapy Allergen immunotherapy, also known as desensitization or hypo-sensitization, is a medical treatment for environmental allergies, such as insect bites, and asthma. Immunotherapy involves exposing people to larger and larger amounts of allergen i ...

drops (allergy immunotherapy administered as droplets under the tongue). In recent years, ALK’s research and development strategy has been focused on introducing a range of sublingual immunotherapy tablets (SLIT-tablets). The first, for grass pollen allergy, was launched in 2006, and was followed by SLIT-tablets for ragweed pollen allergy in 2014 and

house dust mite allergy House dust mites (HDM, or simply dust mites) are various species of acariform mites belonging to the family Pyroglyphidae that are found in association with dust in dwellings. They are known for causing allergies. Biology Species The currentl ...

in 2016. The company is part-owned by the

Lundbeck H. Lundbeck A/S (commonly known simply as Lundbeck) is a Danish international pharmaceutical company engaged in the research, development, manufacturing, marketing and sale of pharmaceuticals across the world. The company’s products are targe ...

Foundation, however is also a publicly traded entity.

Corporate information

ALK’s stock is listed on the NASDAQ OMX

Copenhagen Stock Exchange The Nasdaq Copenhagen, formerly known as the Copenhagen Stock Exchange ( da, Københavns Fondsbørs), is an international marketplace for Danish securities, including shares, bonds, treasury bills and notes, and financial futures and options. ...

. As of February 7, 2017, the current members of ALK’s board of directors are:
Steen Riisgaard ( chairman of the board, chairman of the remuneration committee and chairman of the nomination committee)
Jacob Kastrup ( employee elected)
Lars Holmqvist (member of the remuneration committee)
Andreas Slyngborg Holst (employee elected)
Anders Gersel Pedersen (chairman of the scientific committee, member of the remuneration committee)
Jakob Riis (chairman of the

audit committee An audit committee is a committee of an organisation's board of directors which is responsible for oversight of the financial reporting process, selection of the independent auditor, and receipt of audit results both internal and external. In a U. ...

)
Lene Skole (member of the audit committee and the nomination committee)
Katja Barnkob Thalund (employee elected)
Per Valstorp (member of the audit committee) As of February 7, 2017, the members of ALK’s board of management are:
Carsten Hellmann (

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

and

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

)
Henrik Jacobi (

Executive Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

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 ...

)
Søren Niegel (Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations)
Flemming Pedersen ( Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President)
Helle Skov, Executive Vice President, Product Supply

Operations

ALK employs 2,300 people worldwide. The company’s global headquarters and its main research and development center are on the Scion DTU science and technology park in

Hørsholm Hørsholm () is an urban area on the Øresund coast approximately north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers most of Hørsholm Municipality and straddles the borders neighbouring Fredensborg Municipality and Rudersdal Municipality. Hørsholm pro ...

, Denmark, in the

Capital Region of Denmark The Capital Region of Denmark ( da, Region Hovedstaden, ) is the easternmost administrative region of Denmark. The Capital Region has 29 municipalities and a regional council consisting of 41 elected members. As of 1 August 2021 the chairperso ...

. The company is present in 32 countries, either directly or via partnerships, and works with distributors in a number of other markets. Other ALK facilities include: *European production facilities in Hørsholm, Denmark, in

Vendeuil Vendeuil () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 799 Communes of France, communes in the French Departments of ...

and

Varennes-en-Argonne Varennes-en-Argonne (, literally ''Varennes in Argonne'') or simply Varennes (German: Wöringen) is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 639. Geography Varennes-en-A ...

, France, and in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

, Spain. *North American production facilities in Port Washington,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, in Post Falls,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...

, in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...

, Oklahoma, and in Mississauga,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Products

Allergy immunotherapy products account for 89% of ALK’s revenues and comprise three types of product: *

Sublingual immunotherapy Allergen immunotherapy, also known as desensitization or hypo-sensitization, is a medical treatment for environmental allergies, such as insect bites, and asthma. Immunotherapy involves exposing people to larger and larger amounts of allergen i ...

tablets (SLIT-tablets) covering grass pollen, ragweed pollen and house dust mite allergies. * Sublingual immunotherapy drops (SLIT-drops). A droplet-based allergy vaccine marketed under various brand names and covering approximately 40 different allergens and combinations of allergens, including pollens, molds, mites and pets. *

Subcutaneous immunotherapy Allergen immunotherapy, also known as desensitization or hypo-sensitization, is a medical treatment for environmental Allergy, allergies, such as insect bites, and asthma. Immunotherapy involves exposing people to larger and larger amounts of all ...

(SCIT). An injection-based allergy vaccine marketed under various brand names and covering the most common allergens such as pollens, molds, mites, pets, bees and wasps. The aforementioned allergy immunotherapy products are purified from natural allergen sources then combined with

excipient An excipient is a substance formulated alongside the active ingredient of a medication, included for the purpose of long-term stabilization, bulking up solid formulations that contain potent active ingredients in small amounts (thus often referred ...

s during formulation. Other ALK products include an emergency adrenaline autoinjector for people who experience

anaphylaxis Anaphylaxis is a serious, potentially fatal allergic reaction and medical emergency that is rapid in onset and requires immediate medical attention regardless of use of emergency medication on site. It typically causes more than one of the follo ...

, allergy diagnostic kits, for example, skin prick tests, and bulk allergen extracts, mostly sold in the US to allergy specialists for use in their practices.

Partnerships and collaborations

From 2006 until 2016, ALK had a

strategic alliance A strategic alliance (also see strategic partnership) is an agreement between two or more parties to pursue a set of agreed upon objectives needed while remaining independent organizations. The alliance is a cooperation or collaboration which aim ...

with

Merck & Co Merck & Co., Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and is named for Merck Group, founded in Germany in 1668, of whom it was once the American arm. The company does business as Merck Sha ...

to develop and commercialize ALK’s SLIT-tablet products in the United States, Canada and Mexico, granting Merck

exclusive rights In Anglo-Saxon law, an exclusive right, or exclusivity, is a de facto, non-tangible prerogative existing in law (that is, the power or, in a wider sense, right) to perform an action or acquire a benefit and to permit or deny others the right to ...

to develop, market and distribute the tablets for grass pollen allergy,

house dust mite House dust mites (HDM, or simply dust mites) are various species of acariform mites belonging to the family Pyroglyphidae that are found in association with dust in dwellings. They are known for causing allergies. Biology Species The current ...

allergy and

ragweed Ragweeds are flowering plants in the genus ''Ambrosia'' in the aster family, Asteraceae. They are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, especially North America, In June 2016, ALK and

announced that the partnership would end by the end of 2016. The company also has an alliance with Torii Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd to develop and commercialize ALK’s house dust mite allergy immunotherapy products in Japan. The agreement covers the house dust mite SLIT-tablet, an injection-based immunotherapy product, and diagnostic products for house dust mite allergy. In addition, it established a research and development collaboration to develop a SLIT-tablet product for

Japanese cedar ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' L ...

pollen allergy. In China, ALK had a

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

with Eddingpharm which covered ALK’s diagnostic skin prick test for house dust mite allergy, and a subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) product, also for house dust mite allergy. Under the agreement, Eddingpharm handled sales and distribution, while ALK provided medical and scientific expertise. Announced in April 2014, the collaboration was to run for an initial seven years, provided certain performance targets were met. However, the agreement was terminated by ALK in 2016 in favor of a collaboration with a new distributor. ALK also has a collaboration with

Abbott Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

covering Russia and selected emerging markets, under which Abbott gains rights to distribute and commercialize ALK's SLIT-tablets for grass, ragweed, tree and house dust mite allergies. The agreement with Abbott was expanded in 2016 allowing Abbott to register and sell ALK’s house dust mite SLIT-tablet in seven markets in South-East Asia: Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. ALK also signed a collaboration with bioCSL (now name Seqirus) covering Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

which grants it exclusive rights to promote and sell ALK’s SLIT-tablets against house dust mite and grass pollen allergy and its adrenaline auto-injector.

Sponsorships

ALK is one of the founder sponsors of the

European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is a non-profit organisation for European clinicians, researchers and allied health professionals in the field of allergy and clinical immunology, covering asthma, rhinitis, eczema a ...

(EAACI). It also sponsors and organizes an invitation-only biennial scientific symposium, the Symposium on Specific Allergy (SOSA). Since 2000, the company has sponsored the WAO Henning Løwenstein Research Award which is awarded to a young scientist who has shown excellence within the field of allergy. Since 2005, the award has been made every two years. The 2013 winner received €10,000 (or an educational grant of corresponding value) and a travel grant to attend the 2013

(EAACI)/

World Allergy Organization The World Allergy Organization (WAO) is an international umbrella organization of 109 regional and national allergology and clinical immunology societies that cooperate across 27 committees. Since the first World Allergy Congress (WAC) held in Zur ...

(WAO) Congress in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

, Italy.

Timeline

1923: Doctor Kaj Baagøe and pharmacist Peter Barfod produce Denmark’s first pharmaceutically manufactured allergen extract at

(

Rigshospitalet Rigshospitalet (meaning ''The National'', ''State'' or ''Hospital of the Realm'', but not usually translated) is the largest public and teaching hospital in Copenhagen and the most highly specialised hospital in Denmark. The hospital's main bu ...

)
1949: Production of allergy vaccines and diagnostics is centered at an independent unit called Allergologisk Laboratorium (Allergology Laboratory)
1972: The technique to accurately identify the proteins that provoke allergies in individual patients is developed
1976: The first standardized process for allergen extracts (DAS 76) is developed
1978: The world's first standardized allergy immunotherapy product is launched
1984: ALK begins a period of global expansion by establishing a presence in several new markets and through strategic acquisitions
1990: The world's first product for sublingual immunotherapy drops (SLIT-drops) (droplets administered under the tongue) is launched
1990: The PAT (Preventative Allergy Treatment) study is initiated in collaboration with leading European allergy specialists. The study finds that allergy immunotherapy decreases the risk of the development of asthma in children with allergic rhinitis
1992: ALK acquires Alergia e Immunologia Abello S.A. (Abello), a Spanish company based in Madrid (with additional locations in Italy and Germany), its largest competitor at the time. Abello Pharmaceuticals was founded in 1925 by pharmacist Juan Abello Pascual and specialized in manufacturing oxygen- and alkaline-based therapeutics as well as synthetic hormones, among other processes and products.
2000: Acquires Center Laboratories, one of the leading suppliers of allergenic extracts in the U.S.
2006: The world’s first registered sublingual immunotherapy tablet (SLIT-tablet), for grass pollen allergy, is launched
2007: An agreement is signed with

Schering-Plough Schering-Plough Corporation was an American pharmaceutical company. It was originally the U.S. subsidiary of the German company Schering AG, which was founded in 1851 by Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering. As a result of nationalization, it bec ...

(which merged with Merck & Co. in November 2009) to develop, register and commercialize in North America a portfolio of SLIT-tablet treatments for grass, ragweed and house dust mite allergy
2009: The Grazax Asthma Prevention (GAP) trial, investigating the potential for preventing the development of asthma in children and adolescents is initiated.
2011: A new ALK-developed adrenaline auto-injector for the treatment of acute anaphylaxis is launched
2011: An agreement with Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. to develop, register and commercialize a number of SLIT-tablet products in Japan is signed. The agreement also covers selected existing ALK products and diagnostics against house dust mite allergy. It also covers a research and development contract to develop a sublingual immunotherapy tablet against Japanese cedar pollen allergy.
2014: The grass and ragweed SLIT-tablets are launched in the US.
2014: ALK signs collaboration agreements with Eddingpharm for China and Abbott for Russia and selected emerging markets.
2015: ALK signs a collaboration agreement with bioCSL (now Seqirus) covering Australia and New Zealand.
2016: ALK expands its partnership with Abbott to cover seven markets in South-East Asia and terminates its partnerships with Merck and EddingPharm.
2016: The house dust mite SLIT-tablet is launched in Europe and Japan.

Research and development

Since launching the first SLIT-tablet (for grass allergy) in 2006, ALK has been developing tablets for other allergies, including tree, ragweed and house dust mite. Its strategy is to develop more patient-friendly treatments based on the approach of 're-educating' the immune system.

Notes and references

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:ALK-Abello Companies listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen Pharmaceutical companies of Denmark Biotechnology companies of Denmark Life science companies based in Copenhagen Pharmaceutical companies established in 1923 Danish companies established in 1923 Companies based in Rudersdal Municipality