Aptalis was a company in the pharmaceutical industry. In January 2014, the company was acquired by Forest Laboratories (acquired by Allergan) 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.

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 in 2008. Eurand Pharmaceuticals was a producer and contract manufacturer of

sustained release dosage forms Modified-release dosage is a mechanism that (in contrast to immediate-release dosage) delivers a drug with a delay after its administration (delayed-release dosage) or for a prolonged period of time (extended-release R, XR, XLdosage) or to a spe ...

or taste-masked pharmaceutical dosage forms. Both Axcan and Eurand produced and marketed versions of the drug pancrelipase, 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 to sell a low strength version of ZENPEP ( pancrelipase) 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, in the United States. On January 18, 2012, the company announced that its partner, Gilead Sciences, received approval for the oral powder formulation of Viread ( tenofovir disoproxil). On September 3, 2013, the company launched PYLERA capsules (

Bismuth subcitrate/metronidazole/tetracycline The drug combination bismuth subcitrate/metronidazole/tetracycline (trade name Pylera) is used for the treatment of peptic ulcer with an infection by the bacterium '' Helicobacter pylori''. It is taken by mouth. It is available as a generic me ...

), which, in combination with omeprazole, is indicated for the treatment of patients with helicobacter pylori infections.

Acquisition of the company by Forest Laboratories

In January 2014, Forest Laboratories (now part of Allergan) announced that it had agreed to acquire Aptalis for $2.9 billion in cash. Aptalis withdrew its planned initial public offering after the announcement. In April 2015, TPG Capital 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