King Pharmaceuticals
Encyclopedia
King Pharmaceuticals was the world's 39th largest pharmaceutical company
, based in Bristol, Tennessee
. However, on October 12, 2010, King was acquired by Pfizer
for $14.25 per share. King produced a wide range of pharmaceuticals, including Altace
for heart attack
prevention, Levoxyl
for hypothyroidism
, Sonata
, a sleeping aid
, and Skelaxin
, a muscle relaxant
. King Pharmaceuticals operated manufacturing facilities in Bristol, Tennessee
, Rochester, Michigan
, St. Louis, Missouri
, St. Petersburg, Florida
, and Middleton, Wisconsin
, and they employed approximately 2,700 people including a sales force of over 1,000 individuals.
King's wholly owned subsidiaries were Monarch Pharmaceuticals, Inc., King Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Inc., Meridian Medical Technologies Inc., Parkdale Pharmaceuticals, Inc., King Pharmaceuticals of Nevada, Inc., and Monarch Pharmaceuticals Ireland Limited.
plant in Bristol, Tennessee. The 500000 square feet (46,451.5 m²) facility was purchased for $1.18 million from RSR Pharmaceutical, who had been using it after Beecham merged with SmithKline. King initially manufactured drugs for other pharmaceutical companies, but soon established a strategy of acquiring branded prescription drugs, which have a much higher gross margin than contract manufactured drugs.
1994 to 1998, King obtained about twenty smaller branded drugs and then went public in June 1998.
announced an anti-RU-486 boycott
, targeting all Hoechst pharmaceutical products including Altace. By September 17, the pro-life
organization Pharmacists For Life International joined the NRLC anti-RU-486 boycott "...against the American subsidiary of Hoechst, AG Hoechst-Roussel, Hoechst-Celanese, its generic subsidiary Coply Pharmaceuticals and the agricultural Hoechst subsidiary" while asking U.S. consumers to "...focus on key Hoechst drugs which have the most economic impact rather than taking an across-the-board shotgun approach" and specifically targeting Altace as a boycott list item.
Hoechst merged with Marion Merrill Dow of Kansas City, Missouri in 1995, forming the Hoechst U.S. pharmaceutical subsidiary Hoechst Marion Roussel (HMR). Altace was bringing in under $90 million in U.S. revenues for HMR and Hoechst had stopped promoting Altace within the United States., and King Pharmaceuticals President Jefferson "Jeff" Gregory also began negotiations in 1995 with Hoechst to acquire U.S. distribution rights to Altace.
The King Pharmaceuticals wholly owned subsidiary Monarch Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (another brother of John Gregory - Joseph Gregory - was then the president of Monarch Pharmaceuticals) acquired ownership of the U.S. distribution and marketing rights to Altace and other Hoescht products from Hoescht AG subsidiary Hoechst Marion Roussel of Kansas City, Missouri on December 18, 1998, and following a January 1999 merger a few weeks later with Rhône-Poulenc
, Hoechst assumed the new corporate identity of Aventis
).
In 2001, Forbes
magazine ranked John Gregory among the 400 richest Americans. The bulk of Gregory's personal fortune was due in large part due to the ability of King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to reintroduce the Hoechst branded prescription drug Altace back into the U.S. market under the King Pharmaceuticals,Inc. subsidiary Monarch Pharmaceuticals brand following the 1998 U.S. marketing and distribution agreement between KingPharmaceuticals/Monarch and Hoechst/HMR.
In late December 1998, King Pharmaceuticals (d.b.a. Monarch Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) purchased the U.S. marketing and distribution rights of the company's most successful drug, Altace, for $362.5 million from the U.S. subsidiary of Hoechst AG
, Hoechst Marion Roussel of Kansas City. As a result of increasing the number of sales representatives and the findings of the Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation (HOPE), Altace sales sky rocketed. Using profits from Altace, King continued to add product lines, the most significant purchases being Levoxyl, Thrombin
, and Cytomel in 2000. Also in 2000, seeing fewer opportunities to obtain branded drugs, the company acquired an R&D company based in North Carolina. In 2002, King purchased a maker of auto-injectors, Meridian Medical Technologies.
In 2002, John Gregory stepped down as CEO, and his brother Jefferson Gregory took over. Then in 2004, Jeff Gregory stepped down as well after the SEC began investigations into King’s Medicaid billing practices. The board named Brian Markison to replace him. Soon after, in July 2004, a deal was made for Mylan Laboratories to acquire King for $4 billion. Investors, most notably Carl Icahn
, were critical of the merger, saying that Mylan was overpaying for King. The next year the deal was called off.
In 2008 King Pharmaceuticals acquired Alpharma Pharmaceuticals to expand into the pain treatment market. From the acquisition, King gained the patents on the pain management drugs, Flector and Embeda.
Inc. announced it would acquire Bristol-based King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for a total cost to Pfizer of $3.6 billion in cash or $14.25 per share. The acquisition would broaden Pfizer's product line of pain relief and management medication, such as King's Embeda, Avinza, and the Flector Patch.
Pharmaceutical company
The pharmaceutical industry develops, produces, and markets drugs licensed for use as medications. Pharmaceutical companies are allowed to deal in generic and/or brand medications and medical devices...
, based in Bristol, Tennessee
Bristol, Tennessee
Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundaries of both cities run parallel to each other along State...
. However, on October 12, 2010, King was acquired by Pfizer
Pfizer
Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
for $14.25 per share. King produced a wide range of pharmaceuticals, including Altace
Ramipril
Ramipril is an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, used to treat high blood pressure and congestive heart failure.-Mechanism of action:ACE inhibitors lower the...
for heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
prevention, Levoxyl
Levothyroxine
Levothyroxine, also L-thyroxine, synthetic T4, or 3,5,3',5'-tetraiodo-L-thyronine, is a synthetic form of thyroxine , used as a hormone replacement for patients with thyroid problems. The natural hormone is chemically in the chiral L-form, as is the pharmaceutical agent...
for hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland does not make enough thyroid hormone.Iodine deficiency is the most common cause of hypothyroidism worldwide but it can be caused by other causes such as several conditions of the thyroid gland or, less commonly, the pituitary gland or...
, Sonata
Zaleplon
Zaleplon is a sedative/hypnotic, mainly used for insomnia. It is a nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic from the pyrazolopyrimidine class. In terms of adverse effects zaleplon appears to offer little improvement compared to both benzodiazepines and other non-benzodiazepine Z-drugs.Sonata is manufactured by...
, a sleeping aid
Sedative
A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....
, and Skelaxin
Metaxalone
Metaxalone is a muscle relaxant used to relax muscles and relieve pain caused by strains, sprains, and other musculoskeletal conditions. Its exact mechanism of action is not known, but it may be due to general central nervous system depression...
, a muscle relaxant
Muscle relaxant
A muscle relaxant is a drug which affects skeletal muscle function and decreases the muscle tone. It may be used to alleviate symptoms such as muscle spasms, pain, and hyperreflexia. The term "muscle relaxant" is used to refer to two major therapeutic groups: neuromuscular blockers and spasmolytics...
. King Pharmaceuticals operated manufacturing facilities in Bristol, Tennessee
Bristol, Tennessee
Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundaries of both cities run parallel to each other along State...
, Rochester, Michigan
Rochester, Michigan
Rochester is an affluent city in north Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan on the northern outskirts of metro Detroit. The population was 12,711 at the 2010 census...
, St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
, and Middleton, Wisconsin
Middleton, Wisconsin
Middleton is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. It is a western suburb of the state capital, Madison but it was actually founded before Madison. It got its name from Middletown, Connecticut; the "w" being dropped was due to a paper work error made by long time historian Edward Kromrey...
, and they employed approximately 2,700 people including a sales force of over 1,000 individuals.
King's wholly owned subsidiaries were Monarch Pharmaceuticals, Inc., King Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Inc., Meridian Medical Technologies Inc., Parkdale Pharmaceuticals, Inc., King Pharmaceuticals of Nevada, Inc., and Monarch Pharmaceuticals Ireland Limited.
Company history
King Pharmaceuticals was founded in 1993 by John M. Gregory. In January 1994, King acquired a former BeechamBeecham
- Surname :* Thomas Beecham , British chemist, grandfather of the conductor* Thomas Beecham , British conductor* Sir Joseph Beecham, 1st Baronet , eldest son of Thomas Beecham the chemist...
plant in Bristol, Tennessee. The 500000 square feet (46,451.5 m²) facility was purchased for $1.18 million from RSR Pharmaceutical, who had been using it after Beecham merged with SmithKline. King initially manufactured drugs for other pharmaceutical companies, but soon established a strategy of acquiring branded prescription drugs, which have a much higher gross margin than contract manufactured drugs.
1994 to 1998, King obtained about twenty smaller branded drugs and then went public in June 1998.
King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. acquiring U.S. marketing and distribution rights to Altace
During 1994, the U.S. National Right to Life CommitteeNational Right to Life Committee
The National Right to Life Committee is the oldest and largest pro-life organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and over 3,000 local chapters nationwide. The group works through legislation and education to work against abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and assisted...
announced an anti-RU-486 boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
, targeting all Hoechst pharmaceutical products including Altace. By September 17, the pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
organization Pharmacists For Life International joined the NRLC anti-RU-486 boycott "...against the American subsidiary of Hoechst, AG Hoechst-Roussel, Hoechst-Celanese, its generic subsidiary Coply Pharmaceuticals and the agricultural Hoechst subsidiary" while asking U.S. consumers to "...focus on key Hoechst drugs which have the most economic impact rather than taking an across-the-board shotgun approach" and specifically targeting Altace as a boycott list item.
Hoechst merged with Marion Merrill Dow of Kansas City, Missouri in 1995, forming the Hoechst U.S. pharmaceutical subsidiary Hoechst Marion Roussel (HMR). Altace was bringing in under $90 million in U.S. revenues for HMR and Hoechst had stopped promoting Altace within the United States., and King Pharmaceuticals President Jefferson "Jeff" Gregory also began negotiations in 1995 with Hoechst to acquire U.S. distribution rights to Altace.
The King Pharmaceuticals wholly owned subsidiary Monarch Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (another brother of John Gregory - Joseph Gregory - was then the president of Monarch Pharmaceuticals) acquired ownership of the U.S. distribution and marketing rights to Altace and other Hoescht products from Hoescht AG subsidiary Hoechst Marion Roussel of Kansas City, Missouri on December 18, 1998, and following a January 1999 merger a few weeks later with Rhône-Poulenc
Rhône-Poulenc
-History of the company:The Company was founded in 1928 through the merger of Société des Usines Chimiques du Rhône from Lyon and Établissements Poulenc Frères from Paris founded by Étienne Poulenc, a 19th century Parisian apothecary and brought to prominence by his second and third sons Emile...
, Hoechst assumed the new corporate identity of Aventis
Aventis
Aventis was a pharmaceutical and lab assay testing company. It was formed in 1999 when Rhône-Poulenc S.A. merged with Hoechst AG. The merged company was based in Strasbourg, France. With its headquarters in Strasbourg, Aventis was the product of the first transnational merger to combine large...
).
In 2001, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine ranked John Gregory among the 400 richest Americans. The bulk of Gregory's personal fortune was due in large part due to the ability of King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to reintroduce the Hoechst branded prescription drug Altace back into the U.S. market under the King Pharmaceuticals,Inc. subsidiary Monarch Pharmaceuticals brand following the 1998 U.S. marketing and distribution agreement between KingPharmaceuticals/Monarch and Hoechst/HMR.
In late December 1998, King Pharmaceuticals (d.b.a. Monarch Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) purchased the U.S. marketing and distribution rights of the company's most successful drug, Altace, for $362.5 million from the U.S. subsidiary of Hoechst AG
Hoechst AG
Hoechst AG was a German chemicals then life-sciences company that became Aventis Deutschland after its merger with France's Rhône-Poulenc S.A. in 1999...
, Hoechst Marion Roussel of Kansas City. As a result of increasing the number of sales representatives and the findings of the Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation (HOPE), Altace sales sky rocketed. Using profits from Altace, King continued to add product lines, the most significant purchases being Levoxyl, Thrombin
Thrombin
Thrombin is a "trypsin-like" serine protease protein that in humans is encoded by the F2 gene. Prothrombin is proteolytically cleaved to form thrombin in the first step of the coagulation cascade, which ultimately results in the stemming of blood loss...
, and Cytomel in 2000. Also in 2000, seeing fewer opportunities to obtain branded drugs, the company acquired an R&D company based in North Carolina. In 2002, King purchased a maker of auto-injectors, Meridian Medical Technologies.
In 2002, John Gregory stepped down as CEO, and his brother Jefferson Gregory took over. Then in 2004, Jeff Gregory stepped down as well after the SEC began investigations into King’s Medicaid billing practices. The board named Brian Markison to replace him. Soon after, in July 2004, a deal was made for Mylan Laboratories to acquire King for $4 billion. Investors, most notably Carl Icahn
Carl Icahn
Carl Celian Icahn is an American business magnate and investor.-Biography:Icahn was raised in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York City, where he attended Far Rockaway High School. His father was a cantor, his mother was a schoolteacher...
, were critical of the merger, saying that Mylan was overpaying for King. The next year the deal was called off.
In 2008 King Pharmaceuticals acquired Alpharma Pharmaceuticals to expand into the pain treatment market. From the acquisition, King gained the patents on the pain management drugs, Flector and Embeda.
Acquisition
On October 12, 2010, PfizerPfizer
Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
Inc. announced it would acquire Bristol-based King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for a total cost to Pfizer of $3.6 billion in cash or $14.25 per share. The acquisition would broaden Pfizer's product line of pain relief and management medication, such as King's Embeda, Avinza, and the Flector Patch.