Almirall, S.A. is a Spanish

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 sympto ...

, with headquarters in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, founded in 1943. In 2016, it generated total revenue of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

859.3 millionAlmirall: financial data 2016
/ref> and became the leading pharmaceutical company in R&D investment in Spain. With over 1,975 employees (2016), it has a presence, through its 13 affiliates in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and United States.

History

Early history

Almirall SA was founded in 1943 in Spain. In 1979 the company launched gastroprokinetic clebopride in Spain, the first product from the company’s internal R&D team. In 1984 the business launched antacid product,

almagate Almagate (trade name Almax) is an aluminium- and magnesium-containing antacid. It was first described in 1984. Adverse effects Almagate is well tolerated. In a clinical trial, the most common adverse drug reaction, adverse effects were diarrhea ...

, in Spain, as well as

anti-inflammatory Anti-inflammatory is the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation or swelling. Anti-inflammatory drugs, also called anti-inflammatories, make up about half of analgesics. These drugs remedy pain by reducing inflammation as o ...

piketoprofen Piketoprofen ( INN; trade names Calmatel, Picalm) is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) for topical use in form of a cream. Chemically, it is the 4-picolineamide of the NSAID ketoprofen Ketoprofen is one of the propionic acid class ...

in 1985 and antihistamine

ebastine Ebastine is a H1 antihistamine with low potential for causing drowsiness. It does not penetrate the blood–brain barrier to a significant amount and thus combines an effective block of the histamine H1 receptor, H1 receptor in peripheral bio ...

and

cinitapride Cinitapride (trade names Cintapro, Pemix) is a gastroprokinetic agent and antiemetic agent of the benzamide class which is marketed in India, Mexico, Pakistan and Spain. It acts as an agonist of the 5-HT1 and 5-HT4 receptors and as an antagoni ...

in 1985. In the same year, Almirall opened its first subsidiary, based in Belgium. In 1992 the company launched aceclofenac and a year later opened its second foreign subsidiary, in Portugal. The company's new headquarters were opened in Barcelona, in 1994. In 1997 Almirall and Prodesfarma merged their interests.

Further expansion

In 2000 the FDA approved anti-migraine agent

almotriptan Almotriptan (trade name Axert and others) is a triptan medication discovered and developed by Almirall for the treatment of heavy migraine headache. It was patented in 1992 and approved for medical use in 2000. Medical uses Almotriptan is ...

. A year later the company opened its Mexican subsidiary as well as acquiring its French affiliate. Beginning in 2002, Almirall opened a series of European based subsidiaries; Italy (2002), Germany (2003), Austria, Poland, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Switzerland (2008) and Nordic Countries (2010).https://www.almirall.com/documents/10876/119719/AF_Brochure_Corporativo_2019_EN.pdf/5f8965ba-03ef-90c8-ceb7-9432896c7113?t=1562607154615 In 2005 the business acquired the commercial rights for

Sativex Nabiximols (USAN, trade name Sativex) is a specific ''Cannabis'' extract that was approved in 2010 as a botanical drug in the United Kingdom. Nabiximols is sold as a mouth spray intended to alleviate neuropathic pain, spasticity, overactive bla ...

for the treatment of spasticity associated to multiple sclerosis. In 2006, the company opened its new R&D Centre based in

Sant Feliu de Llobregat Sant Feliu de Llobregat () is an industrial city and municipality in Catalonia, Spain, in the province of Barcelona. It is the capital of the comarca of Baix Llobregat, and the see of a bishopric since June 2005. Geography Sant Feliu is situated ...

as well as the acquisition of the Centre of Excellence for Inhalation Technology. In 2007 the company floated on the Spanish stock market, as well as acquiring European dermatology specialist, Hermal. The company also acquired a portfolio of eight products from

Shire plc Shire plc was a UK-founded Jersey-registered specialty biopharmaceutical company. Originating in the United Kingdom with an operational base in the United States, its brands and products included Vyvanse, Lialda, and Adderall XR. Shire was ...

. In 2011 Almirall launched Actikerall prescribed for the local treatment of

actinic keratosis Actinic keratosis (AK), sometimes called solar keratosis or senile keratosis, is a pre-cancerous area of thick, scaly, or crusty skin.Freedberg, et al. (2003). ''Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine''. (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill. . Actinic k ...

. In 2012 Almirall opened its first North America subsidiary, based in Canada and launched

aclidinium Aclidinium bromide ( INN) is a long-acting, inhaled muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) approved in the United States on July 24, 2012 as a maintenance treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Evidence shows that it can improve quali ...

, prescribed for

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce ...

(

COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce ...

), in Europe under the brand Eklira Genuair and Bretaris Genuair and in the United States under the brand Tudorza Pressair. The business also launched Monovo, for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases such as

psoriasis Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by raised areas of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small, localized patches to complete ...

. In 2013 Almirall acquired another specialist dermatology company, Aqua Pharmaceuticals. The company launched

linaclotide Linaclotide, (sold under the brand name Linzess in the US and Mexico, and as Constella elsewhere) is a drug used to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and chronic constipation with no known cause. For label updates seFDA index page ...

in Europe (Constella) for

irritable bowel syndrome Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a "disorder of gut-brain interaction" characterized by a group of symptoms that commonly include abdominal pain and or abdominal bloating and changes in the consistency of bowel movements. These symptoms may ...

with

constipation Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the bowel movement ...

(IBS-C) and opened its Netherlands subsidiary. In 2014 Almirall divested its rights to its respiratory franchise to Astrazeneca focussing on the dermatology, later in 2015 declaring its strategic intention to become a leading pharmaceutical company in the field of dermatology and continuing with its expansion by acquiring Poli Group Holding. In 2016 Almirall acquired ThermiGen LLC. In January 2020, the company announced it would acquire Bioniz Therapeutic. In 2020, Almirall earned 74.3 million euros, 30% less than the previous year. The following year it closed with a loss of 40.9 million. According to the annual accounts, the losses were justified by the accounting impairment of various products, although sales grew by 2.5%, driven by the dermatology business. In February 2022 it was announced that Carlos Gallardo would replace his father, Jorge Gallardo, as president of the company.

Activities

Almirall collaborates with various public and private entities, such as the Centro Superior de Investigaciones Científicas ( CSIC), the

Instituto de Investigación Biomédica The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona)Presentation section at IRB Barcelona ...

and the Parc Científic de Barcelona in Spain. Highlighted among the international alliances are those with the

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

(United Kingdom) and the

National Institute of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

(

NIH The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

) in the United States. Almirall participated in the creation of the Barcelona Respiratory Network Foundation.Barcelona Respiratory Network Foundation
/ref> In

, the company has contributed in several projects with the

Innovative Medicines Initiative The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is a European initiative to improve the competitive situation of the European Union in the field of pharmaceutical research. The IMI is a joint initiative ( public-private partnership) of the DG Researc ...

(IMI).

Centres

The company has three R&D centres distributed in Spain and Germany (Reinbek) and Switzerland (Lugano). The R&D centre in

(

), houses the departments involved in all stages of R&D, as well as the development of new chemical entities. The

Reinbek Reinbek (; probably from "Rainbek" = brook at the field margin; Northern Low Saxon: ''Reinbeek'') is a town located in Stormarn district in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein within the metropolitan region of Hamburg. It is accesse ...

Centre of Excellence for

Dermatology Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medica ...

specializes in the development of new formulas for the treatment of skin diseases. The company also has three production centres: two in Spain, the pharmaceutical plant in

Sant Andreu de la Barca Sant Andreu de la Barca () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Baix Llobregat in Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nat ...

(

) and the pharmaceutical and chemical plant in

Sant Celoni Sant Celoni () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Vallès Oriental in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the valley of the Tordera river between the ranges of Montseny and Montnegre. The main part of the town is on the left bank of the ...

(

); and a pharmaceutical plant in Germany (

); as well as 13 affiliates in Germany, Austria, Belgium-

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

, the United States, France, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Italy, the Nordic countries,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, the United Kingdom-Ireland, Spain and Switzerland.Almirall
What is the size of Almirall's overall workforce?
� Retrieved 30 July 2014

Numbers

Main products

References

External links

* {{IBEX 35 companies Biotechnology companies of Spain Pharmaceutical companies of Spain Manufacturing companies based in Barcelona Companies listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange Pharmaceutical companies established in 1943 1943 establishments in Spain Spanish brands Multinational companies headquartered in Spain