Headcount: 17,000
Revenues: $13,062 (+51%)
Net Loss: ($1,268) vs ($423)
R&D: $1,085 (+76%)

TOP SELLING DRUGS

When Actavis acquired Allergan in a mega deal for roughly $66 billion, it instantly created a top 10 global pharmaceutical company. Combined annual revenues of more than $23 billion anticipated in 2015 will push the company, which officially adopted the Allergan name, way up the charts next year.

The company said it adopted the Allergan name to ensure its corporate identity reflects the transformation of the company within the pharmaceutical industry as a leader in growth pharma. Allergan’s portfolio boasts world-renowned brands, a global generics business, a premier pharmaceutical pipeline of medicines including brands, generics, biosimilars, OTC products and devices. It is also the fourth largest distributor in the U.S., which will retain the name Anda.

During the year, Allergan initiated a rebranding campaign for the transition of its facilities, operations and commercial presence around the world. The company’s U.S. and Canadian generics business will continue to operate under the Actavis name.

Having completed the buy-out of Allergan in April, the combined companies will now boast revenues of somewhere in the region of $23 billion, which is massive growth. Having come from what now seems a tiddly Watson Pharmaceuticals, the Irish big-lad is no stranger to acquisitions and mergers with a string of them attached to its history—but this was a biggy! And illustrating just how important this is to the company, it has ceased trading as Actavis and will be known as Allergan from here on in.

But it doesn’t look like the company is going to stop there. Senior management strategy says that it’s a lot easier to buy drug candidates that look likely to go somewhere, saving them a lot of the elbow work, time, effort and money of early stage development that has a high chance of going down the drain.

So, 2015 may hold other strategic acquisitions and this time next year Allergan doesn’t plan on being in the same place. Financial results from 1Q15 have rocketed compared with last year and it hopes there will be more to come. But don’t worry, Actavis hasn’t disappeared completely, the name will stay on in the U.S. and Canada flying their generics flag.

—Adele Graham-King

Headcount: 17,000
Pharma Revenues: $8,6774 (7%)
Net Income: $75060 (0%)
R&D Budget: $6175 (3%)

Top Selling Drugs

(The company’s portfolio of approximately 45 brand pharmaceutical products represented approximately 80% of total Actavis Specialty Brands segment product revenues in 2013)

The last few years have been quite a ride for the company formerly known as Watson Pharmaceuticals. Each year has brought another mega merger and change.

The Corona, California generics and specialty company acquired the Swiss Actavis Group in 2012, a move that brought it more specialty pharmaceuticals and also more name recognition in key markets such as Russia. It later added Warner Chilcott PLC in 2013 for $9.2 billion and this year, bought Forest Labs for $25 billion.

Tax Savings Offshore
The company moved its headquarters from Corona to Parsippany, NJ and has since moved them to Dublin, Ireland, where Warner Chilcott was based, a move that offers heavy tax benefits. However, Chairman Paul Bisaro is still based in Parsippany, media report.

Actavis already had a collaboration agreement with Amgen to develop oncology biosimilars, and now has five biosimilars in development in oncology, women’s health and other areas.

Last year, the company launched new generic pharmaceuticals globally, including generic versions of Diovan, Lidoderm and Cymbalta.  Actavis has API production capacity in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, and Ambernath, India.

The company’s third party agency Medis, outlicenses generics, offering a portfolio of 175 products for outlicensing to 330 customers, mainly in Europe.

Focus on hard to manufacture drugs that are off patent
Actavis’ focus is primarily on off patent drugs that are difficult to make, or that complement its existing products, the company wrote in its Annual Report. Actavis owns more than 35 manufacturing facilities around the world.

In other cases, the company applies novel delivery methods, such as sustained release or transdermal patches, to proprietary drug forms. As of last December, Actavis had filed over 195 ANDAs in the U.S. alone.

Actavis has implemented cost reduction initiatives, including the implementation of operational excellence at its manufacturing facilities. The company plans to close its Pharmapack facility in the Netherlands this year and its Lincolnton NC facility by 2015, moving existing sections to Salt Lake City.

Teva settles on Generic Celebex
The company has been sued by Vivus, which had submitted an ANDA for generic Qsymia. Teva has settled with it on the issue of generic Celebrex, which is due to be launched by December.

Last month, the company appointed Brenton Saunders, former CEO at Forest Labs, CEO of Actavis. According to an article last month in Fortune magazine, Saunders has the reputation of a turnaround specialist, and he had reportedly gotten Forest Labs out of a slump.

Fortune also reported that top executives at the company received up to $185 million in “merger success awards.”  CEO Saunders, for instance, would get $15 million to start and up to $68.5 once predefined goals are met.