Warner Chilcott: company history

PHARMACEUTICALS FIRM Warner Chilcott, formerly Galen, was established in Portadown, Co Armagh, in 1968. It was founded as a pharmaceutical product marketing business by former Glaxo executive Sir Allen McClay, who retired from the group in October 2001.

Having made a profit every year since its foundation, Galen became one of the darlings of the stock market following its flotation in London in July 1997, which valued it at some £182 million.

The company had built up a loyal following at home and among the international investing community – demonstrated by the issue being six times oversubscribed when it first floated.

Galen took a listing on the Irish Stock Exchange in 1997, and the following year it held talks with Dutch group Ferring about a €2.6 billion merger, which eventually fell victim to the heavy fall in stock market valuations in the second half of 1998.

In 2000, Galen Holdings made a move towards the US market when it acquired Warner Chilcott, a Dublin-based company which was one of its chief industry rivals, in a deal worth €330 million. The purchase made Galen the North’s first billion pound (€1.6 billion) firm and expanded its business into research, manufacturing, testing and packaging medicines for world markets.

In June 2004, Galen Holdings received shareholder approval to change its name to Warner Chilcott – saying it decided to adopt the name to simplify company recognition and to create a unified trade name and corporate identity.

The company currently focuses on the women’s healthcare and dermatology segments of the US pharmaceutical market.

Warner Chilcott has two manufacturing facilities, one in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, and the other in Larne, Co Antrim. Its headquarters are located in Ardee, Co Louth. The company employs some 1,110 people.

Warner Chilcott’s purchase of Procter Gamble’s pharmaceuticals business in a deal valued at $3.1 billion was approved by US anti-trust regulators last month.

Leo Pharma also agreed to buy back US rights to three psoriasis treatments from Warner Chilcott for $1 billion (€676 million) in cash last month. The firm will have a gain of about $450 million after tax from the sale, which it will use to repay debt and reduce financing needs for the Procter Gamble purchase.