Aptalis Pharma Inc. was a company in the

pharmaceutical industry The pharmaceutical industry is a medical industry that discovers, develops, produces, and markets pharmaceutical goods such as medications and medical devices. Medications are then administered to (or self-administered by) patients for curing ...

. In January 2014, the company was acquired by

Forest Laboratories Forest Laboratories was a company in the pharmaceutical industry incorporated in Delaware, with its principal office in New York City. It was known for licensing European pharmaceuticals for sale in the United States. On July 1, 2014, the compan ...

(acquired by

Allergan Allergan plc is an American, Irish-domiciled pharmaceutical company that acquires, develops, manufactures and markets brand name drugs and medical devices in the areas of medical aesthetics, eye care, central nervous system, and gastroenterology. ...

) for $675 million. Through a series of acquisitions, the company is now a contract development and manufacturing organization and rebranded as Adare Phama Solutions, headquartered in

Lawrenceville, New Jersey Lawrenceville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) within Lawrence Township in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of 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) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

, Axcan was acquired by

TPG Capital TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American private equity firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. TPG manages investment funds in growth capital, venture capital, public equity, and debt investments. The firm in ...

in 2008. Eurand Pharmaceuticals was a producer and

contract manufacturer A contract manufacturer (CM) is a manufacturer that contracts with a firm for components or products (in which case it is a turnkey supplier). It is a form of outsourcing. A contract manufacturer performing packaging operations is called copacker ...

of sustained release dosage forms or taste-masked pharmaceutical

dosage form Dosage forms (also called unit doses) are pharmaceutical drug products presented in a specific form for use. They contain a mixture of active ingredients and inactive components ( excipients), configured in a particular way (such as a capsule she ...

s. 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 genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...

. 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 The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

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 An anal fissure is a break or tear in the skin of the anal canal. Anal fissures may be noticed by bright red anal bleeding on toilet paper and undergarments, or sometimes in the toilet. If acute they are painful after defecation, but with chro ...

, in the United States. On January 18, 2012, the company announced that its partner,

Gilead Sciences Gilead Sciences, Inc. () is an American biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Foster City, California, that focuses on researching and developing antiviral drugs used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, influenza, and CO ...

, received approval for the oral powder formulation of Viread (

tenofovir disoproxil Tenofovir disoproxil, sold under the brand name Viread among others, is a medication used to treat chronic hepatitis B and to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use with other antiretrovirals. It may be used for pr ...

). 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 medic ...

), which, in combination with

omeprazole Omeprazole, sold under the brand names Prilosec and Losec, among others, is a medication used in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcer disease, and Zollinger–Ellison syndrome. It is also used to prevent up ...

, is indicated for the treatment of patients with

helicobacter pylori ''Helicobacter pylori'', previously known as ''Campylobacter pylori'', is a gram-negative, Flagellum#bacterial, flagellated, Bacterial cellular morphologies#Helical, helical bacterium. Mutants can have a rod or curved rod shape that exhibits l ...

infections.

Acquisition of the company by Forest Laboratories

In January 2014, Forest Laboratories (now part of

) announced that it had agreed to acquire Aptalis for $2.9 billion in cash. Aptalis withdrew its planned

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

after the announcement. In April 2015,

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 contract development and manufacturing organization.

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 Contract development and manufacturing organizations