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 to Ireland to avoid U.S. corporate taxes on their U.S. drug sales, and to avail of
Ireland's corporate tax system.
Predecessors and History
In 1920, Intravenous Products of America was incorporated as a privately owned pharmaceutical business operating in New York.
By 1935 it had changed its name to Endo Products.
The product line focused on medication for the treatment of pain (e.g.
Percodan
Oxycodone/aspirin (trade name Percodan) is a combination drug marketed by Endo Pharmaceuticals. It is a tablet containing a mixture of 325 mg (5 Grain (unit), grains) of aspirin and 4.8355 mg of oxycodone, oxycodone HCl (equivalent t ...
), a focus which continued during its acquisition by
DuPont
Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to:
People
* Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...
in 1969 (e.g.
Percocet).
Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings was created as a result of a $277 million
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 buyouts became noted phenomena of 19 ...
of the division from
DuPont Merck in 1997, led by Carol Ammon.
Through the merger with Algos, it changed name again to Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. and began trading as a
public company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of share capital, stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) co ...
.
In 2012 shareholders voted to again change name to Endo Health Solutions, with Endo Pharmaceuticals becoming a segment of the business. Through the 2014 acquisition of Paladin Labs and subsequent corporate restructuring, Endo International plc was formed.
2022-3 Bankruptcy Proceedings
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 that related to opioid litigation in the US and a $6 billion deal with creditors, including for settling lawsuits.
The
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
has objected to the plans, claiming they violate bankruptcy law.
Merger
In March 2025,
Mallinckrodt and Endo announced plans to merge in a deal valued at $6.7 billion.
Acquisitions
* 1999: Predecessor Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings agreed to buy Algos Pharmaceutical Corporation, in a bid to gain additional products for the painkiller market.
* 2006: Endo acquired RxKinetix, leading to a fall in profits.
* 2009: Endo bought Indevus Pharmaceuticals to diversify into
endocrinology
Endocrinology (from ''endocrine system, endocrine'' + ''wikt:-logy#Suffix, -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 ...
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 Etymology, etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγ ...
.
The company entered the male
hypogonadism
Hypogonadism means diminished functional activity of the human gonad, gonads—the testicles or the ovary, ovaries—that may result in diminished biosynthesis, production of sex hormones. Low androgen (e.g., testosterone) levels are referred t ...
market later in 2010 with Fortesta 2% gel.
* 2010: Endo acquired generic manufacturer Qualitest Pharmaceuticals for $1.2 billion
* 2011: Endo acquired medical device manufacturer American Medical Systems for more than $2 billion
* 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. The acquisition was subsequently used via Canadian tax laws to execute a
corporate tax inversion to Ireland.
In July 2015, ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' 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).
* 2014: 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. In September 2014, Endo offered to buy Auxilium Pharmaceuticals and its portfolio in a then rejected offer, before acquiring the company the following month in a deal valued at $2.6 billion. This expanded Endo's portfolio to include 12 additional products, including a variery of testosterone preparations, and Xiaflex (a treatment for
Peyronie's disease) In the same year they also acquired Dava Pharmaceuticals.
* 2015: Endo acquired the specialty generics and sterile injectables company Par Pharmaceutical for $8.05 billion. The FTC required divestments of assets to Rising Pharmaceuticals for the deal to go through.
* 2018-19: Endo announced and then terminated a deal to acquire Somerset Therapeutics
* 2020: Endo acquired BioSpecifics Technologies for more than $500 million
Lawsuits
Mesh
After facing lawsuits over its production of vaginal mesh implants, Endo shut down its production in 2016 to avoid further litigation It had set aside more than $2.6 billion to payments for such cases.
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
opioids.
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 filed a lawsuit against Endo and several other opioid manufacturers for their alleged contribution to the opioid epidemic in New York.
As part of Endo's 2022 bankruptcy proceedings, it agreed to spend more than $500 million settling opiod relating lawsuits. These proceedings now require Endo to turn over all court documents related to its role in the opioid crisis for publication in a public online archive.
In 2024, Endo agreed to a civil settlement of $464.9 Million to resolve its civil liability under the federal
False Claims Act by unlawfully promoting Opana ER, a dangerous opioid drug that was removed from the market by Endo at the FDA’s request.
Non-profit funding
Endo Pharmaceuticals at various times was a significant funder of the American Pain Foundation, which has been accused of producing misleading and biased materials relating to opiod prescribing. APF shut down in 2012 after the
United States Senate Committee on Finance began an investigation into the relationships between narcotic manufacturers and pain advocacy organisations.
APF cited "irreparable economic circumstances" in its decision to close.
Testosterone
In 2018, Endo paid $200 million to settle over 1,200 lawsuits related to its testosterone replacement therapy, Testim, and its undisclosed side effects.
See also
*
Corporate tax inversions
*
Ireland as a tax haven
References
Additional references
* Form 10-K 2021:
External links
*
{{authority control
Pharmaceutical companies of Ireland
Pharmaceutical companies established in 1997
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2022
Manufacturing companies based in Dublin (city)
Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq
Companies formed by management buyout
Tax inversions
Generic drug manufacturers