Shire plc ( ), ( ), (TSX: SHPGY-Q) is a British manufacturer of pharmaceuticals including Adderall XR, Carbatrol, Fosrenol, and the recently released Vyvanse.

History

Shire was founded by Harry Stratford following discussions with Dr James Murray in 1986. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and in 1997 it went on to acquire Pharmavene and Richmond Pharmaceutical Company. In 2007 it acquired New River Pharmaceuticals Inc, a leading US drug maker, for $2.3bn.

Operations

The Company seeks to develop and market products within advanced biotechnology for specialty physicians. Shire’s in-licensing, merger and acquisition efforts are focused on products in niche markets with strong intellectual property protection either in the US or Europe.

The Company focuses its drug research and development on the relatively common mental abnormality Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), as is made evident by the fact that three of its currently leading medications (Adderall/Adderall XR, Daytrana, and the newly developed Vyvanse), are intended for that disorder. However the Company also works on gastrointestinal (GI) treatments, human genetic therapies (HGT) and renal diseases.

Products

Name	Annual revenue	Indication
Adderall XR	$1.1B	Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Vyvanse	$318.9M	Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Elaprase	$305.1M	Hunter syndrome (lysosomal storage disorder)
Pentasa	$185.5M	Gastrointestinal (Ulcerative colitis)
Replagal	$176.1M	Fabry disease (lysosomal storage disorder)
Fosrenol	$155.4M	Renal disease
Lialda/Mezavant	$140.4M	Gastrointestinal (Ulcerative colitis)
Daytrana	$78.7M	Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Xagrid (sold as Agrylin in the U.S.)	$78.7M	Essential thrombocytosis
Carbatrol	$75.9M	Epilepsy
Calcichew (UK)	$52.8M	Calcium supplements
Reminyl/Reminyl XL	$34.4M	Alzheimer's disease
Firazyr	$0.5M	Cardiovascular (Hereditary angioedema)

Royalty income

Name	Annual revenue	Indication	Licensee
3TC	$140.2M	HIV	GlaxoSmithKline
Zeffix	$40.3M	Chronic hepatitis B	GlaxoSmithKline

Locations

The corporate offices are located in Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK. Other major offices are located in the United States in Wayne, Pennsylvania and Cambridge, Massachusetts. In addition, Shire owns a manufacturing site in Owings Mills, Maryland. The company has recently announced that it will move its tax domicile to Ireland. The move will be effected through the creation of a new holding company in Jersey, which will pay reduced tax on global earnings in Ireland. The new structure is thought to be motivated mainly by the rule that royalties on patents lodged in Ireland are tax free.

Corporate leadership

The non-executive Board Chairman is Matthew Emmens. Angus Russell is the Chief Executive Officer. The President of the Human Genetic Therapies division is Sylvie Gregoire and Michael Cola is the President of Specialty Pharmaceuticals.

References

1. How Shire evolved
2. Shire buys New River
3. Shire Financial Summary 2008
4. Shire Financial Summary 2008
5. Shire moves to Ireland to optimize tax

External links

• Official site
• German pharmaceutical branch
• Yahoo profile