Shire (pharmaceutical company)

Shire plc

Company type	Public limited company
Industry	Biopharmaceuticals
Founded	1986 (1986)
Founder	Harry Stratford, Dennis Stephens, Peter Moriarty, Geoff Hall, Jim Murray
Defunct	January 8, 2019 (2019-01-08)
Fate	Acquired by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company
Headquarters	Dublin (principal offices), Basingstoke (original) , Ireland, United Kingdom
Area served	Worldwide (over 100 countries)
Key people	Flemming Ørnskov (CEO until 2019), Susan Kilsby (Chair of the board)
Products	Vyvanse, Lialda, Adderall XR, Cinryze, Gattex, Natpara, Firazyr, Replagal, Vpriv
Parent	Takeda Pharmaceutical Company

Shire plc was a specialty biopharmaceutical firm originally established in the United Kingdom and registered in Jersey, with operational centers based in the United States. Its prominent products encompassed Vyvanse, Lialda, and Adderall XR. On 8 January 2019, Shire was acquired by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.

Shire concentrated on rare and specialized medical conditions, distributing its products in more than 100 countries. Its therapeutic focus areas included Hematology, Immunology, Neuroscience, Lysosomal Storage Disorders, Gastrointestinal conditions, Internal Medicine, Endocrine disorders, and Hereditary Angioedema. Additionally, Shire developed a growing Oncology division and maintained an innovative pipeline within Ophthalmics.

Initially based in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, Shire’s principal offices were situated in Dublin, Ireland; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; and Zug, Switzerland. Its manufacturing facilities operated out of Lexington, Massachusetts, and Social Circle, Georgia. The Lexington site also became integrated with Takeda’s newly established U.S. headquarters following its relocation from Deerfield, Illinois to the Boston area.

Founding Years

Shire was launched in 1986 in the UK by five founders: Harry Stratford, Dennis Stephens, Peter Moriarty, Geoff Hall, and Dr Jim Murray. Under the leadership of CEO Rolf Stahel, Shire went public on the London Stock Exchange in 1996. Early product offerings included calcium supplements such as (Calcichew-D₃) aimed at treating and preventing osteoporosis. In 1997, Shire acquired Pharmavene for £105 million to incorporate its drug delivery technologies. That year also saw the acquisition of Richwood Pharmaceutical Company, which resulted in the formation of Shire-Richwood Inc.

2000 to 2009

In 2001, Shire expanded by acquiring Biochem Canada. Significant acquisitions followed with Transkaryotic Therapeutics in 2005 and New River Pharmaceuticals in 2007 for $2.6 billion—a record deal for the company at that time. This latter acquisition secured rights to Vyvanse, an ADHD treatment. In 2008, Shire further broadened its portfolio by purchasing German company Jerini for $521 million to enhance its hereditary angioedema treatment options.

Due to changes in UK taxation on patent royalties, Shire shifted its tax residency to Dublin, Ireland in 2008.

2010 and Beyond

Starting from 2010, Shire adopted an aggressive growth strategy centered on mergers and acquisitions, becoming one of the most acquisitive entities within the sector. The company acquired Belgian gastrointestinal specialist Movetis for $565 million in 2010 and followed this with the purchase of regenerative medicine firm Advanced BioHealing in 2011. In 2012, it acquired FerroKin BioSciences for $325 million to obtain FBS0701, a leading iron chelator. The year 2013 marked a peak in acquisition activity with purchases including Lotus Tissue Repair (ABH001), SARcode Bioscience, and most notably ViroPharma—acquired for $4.2 billion and rebranded as Shire Viropharma Inc.—which had a final market valuation of $3.3 billion.

In 2014, Shire enhanced its rare disease portfolio by acquiring Fibrotech for $75 million and Lumena for $260 million, both companies specializing in antifibrotic agents and rare gastrointestinal/hepatic therapies. The subsequent year saw the acquisition of NPS Pharmaceuticals for $5.2 billion, adding rare disease treatments such as Gattex and Natpara; NPS had a market capitalization of $4.99 billion at the time of purchase. Additional acquisitions during 2015 included Meritage Pharma ($245 million), Foresight Biotherapeutics ($300 million), and Dyax for $6.5 billion—strengthening Shire’s gastrointestinal and rare disease pipeline with late-stage treatments like Budesonide for eosinophilic esophagitis and plasma kallikrein inhibitors targeting hereditary angioedema (including Kalbitor and Phase III candidate DX-2930).

In January 2016, Shire completed its largest-ever acquisition: the $32 billion purchase of Baxalta, which had recently been spun off from Baxter International—creating the world’s largest biotechnology company dedicated solely to rare diseases.

In April 2018, Shire divested its oncology division to French pharmaceutical firm Servier for £1.7 billion.

Failed AbbVie acquisition attempt

On 20 June 2014, Shire declined a takeover proposal from AbbVie, which initially valued the offer at £46.11 per share, totaling approximately £27.3 billion ($46.5 billion). The bid was subsequently increased to $51.5 billion on 8 July and further raised to $54.8 billion by 18 July. Nevertheless, due to amendments in the US "Tax Inversion" regulations, AbbVie reevaluated the transaction on 15 October, and the following day its board advised shareholders to oppose the acquisition. This announcement led to a decline in Shire’s stock price by over 27%, while AbbVie incurred a $1.6 billion termination fee payable to Shire. Ultimately, the merger was abandoned on 21 October 2014.

Acquisition by Takeda

In April 2018, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company initiated a bid to acquire Shire, but Shire initially turned down three proposals ranging between £41 billion and £44 billion in valuation. These bids combined Takeda shares with cash offers per Shire share. Reuters noted interest from Allergan, which withdrew shortly thereafter. Takeda continued to enhance its offer multiple times, with the fourth bid reaching £44.3 billion ($62.1 billion). On 24 April, Takeda presented a fifth improved proposal.

By 25 April, Shire consented to recommend the updated £45.8 billion ($64 billion) offer to its shareholders, which featured an increased cash component of £21.76 ($30.33) per ordinary share. On the same day, GlaxoSmithKline dismissed any intentions of making a competing offer. The acquisition was completed on 8 May 2018, with Takeda finalizing the $62 billion purchase of Shire on 8 January 2019.

Acquisition timeline

• Shire Plc (Established 1986, Acquired 2019)
  • Pharmavene (Acquired 1997)
  • Richwood Pharmaceutical Company (Acquired 1997)
  • Biochem Canada (Acquired 2001)
  • Transkaryotic Therapeutics (Acquired 2005)
  • New River Pharmaceuticals Inc (Acquired 2007)
  • Jerini (Acquired 2008)
  • Movetis (Acquired 2012)
  • Advanced BioHealing (Acquired 2011)
  • FerroKin BioSciences (Acquired 2012)
  • Lotus Tissue Repair, Inc (Acquired 2013)
  • Premacure AB (Acquired 2013)
  • SARcode Bioscience Inc (Acquired 2013)
  • ViroPharma (Founded 1994, Acquired 2013)
    • Lev Pharmaceuticals (Acquired 2008)
  • Fibrotech (Acquired 2014)
  • Lumena (Acquired 2014)
  • NPS Pharmaceuticals (Acquired 2015)
  • Meritage Pharma (Acquired 2015)
  • Foresight Biotherapeutics (Acquired 2015)
  • Dyax (Acquired 2015)
  • Baxalta (Acquired 2016)

Product portfolio

The annual revenue data presented below is extracted from the company’s preliminary results for the year 2015.

Product name	Annual revenue	Therapeutic use
Vyvanse	$1,722M	Treatment of Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Lialda/Mezavant	$684M	Management of Gastrointestinal conditions (ulcerative colitis)
Cinryze	$618M	Prevention of swelling episodes in pediatric patients
Gattex/Revestive & Natpara	$166M	Therapies for Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS) and hypocalcemia associated with hypoparathyroidism
Firazyr	$445M	Treatment for Hereditary angioedema
Replagal	$441M	Therapeutic for Fabry Disease (α-galactosidase A deficiency)
Adderall XR	$362M	Used in managing Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Vpriv	$342M	Indicated for Type 1 Gaucher disease

Licences & Royalties

In July 2014, Shire obtained licensing rights to the experimental Hunter syndrome treatment AGT-182 from ArmaGen, with the agreement valued at up to $225 million.

The annual revenue data presented below reflects the company's preliminary financial outcomes for 2015.

Product Name	Annual Revenue	Therapeutic Use	Licensee
Adderall XR	$70.3M	Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)	Impax and Teva
3TC (Lamivudine) and Zeffix (Lamivudine)	$91.6M	Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Chronic hepatitis B	GlaxoSmithKline
Fosrenol	$53.3M	Renal disease	Bayer Yakuhin
Other	$26.4M

Corporate leadership

Up until Takeda's acquisition of Shire on 8 January 2019, Flemming Ørnskov held the role of chief executive officer. The leadership team also included Ginger Gregory as chief officer for human resources, Jeffrey Poulton serving as chief financial officer, and Philip Vickers overseeing research and development activities. James Bowling departed from his interim CFO position after the failure of the AbbVie inversion transaction. The board of directors was chaired by Susan Kilsby.

False Claims Act violations

In September 2014, Shire reached a $56.5 million settlement with the United States Department of Justice concerning alleged breaches of the False Claims Act. The DOJ accused Shire of improper marketing practices between 2004 and 2010 involving Adderall XR, Daytrana, Vyvanse, Pentasa, and Lialda. These allegations included overstated safety profiles, promotion for unauthorized uses, and unsupported claims such as decreases in criminal behavior, traffic accidents, sexually transmitted diseases, and divorce rates.

Unlawful promotion of Dermagraft

In August 2017, Shire consented to a $350 million settlement with the Department of Justice related to violations stemming from the illicit promotion of its Dermagraft product.

See also

• Pharmaceutical industry in the United Kingdom
• Takeda Pharmaceuticals