Shire Plc (LSE: SHP; NASDAQ: SHPGY) is a Jersey-registered, Irish-headquartered global specialty biopharmaceutical company that is the manufacturer of pharmaceuticals.^[2] Originating in and with a large operational base in the United Kingdom, its brands and products include Adderall XR, Carbatrol, Fosrenol, and the recently released Vyvanse.

Shire has its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had a market capitalisation of approximately £12.3 billion as of 23 December 2011, making it the 31st-largest company on the London Stock Exchange.^[3] Shire has a secondary listing on NASDAQ.

History[link]

Shire was founded by Harry Stratford, Dr James Murray, Dennis Stephens, Peter Moriarty, and Geoff Hall in 1986.^[4] It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996.^[4] Shire's initial products were calcium supplements for patients seeking to treat or prevent osteoporosis. Shire's acquisitions include:

• Richwood Pharmaceutical Company in 1995, which formed Shire-Richwood, Inc.^[5]
• Pharmavene in 1997^[6]
• Biochem Canada in 2001^[7]
• Transkaryotic Therapeutics (now Shire Human Genetic Therapies) in 2005^[8]
• New River Pharmaceuticals Inc, owners of Vyvanse, for $2.3bn in 2007^[9]
• Movetis, a Belgian company focusing on gastrointestinal products, in 2010^[10]
• Advanced BioHealing, a regenerative medicine company, in 2011^[11]

Operations[link]

Shire seeks to develop and market pharmaceutical products for specialty physicians. The company'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[link]

A container of Adderall XR

Royalty income[link]

Locations[link]

The original corporate head quarters and still major operation base are located in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. Other major offices are located in the United States in Wayne, Pennsylvania and Cambridge, Massachusetts. In addition, Shire owns a manufacturing site in Lexington, Massachusetts and Owings Mills, Maryland.

Tax Avoidance[link]

In 2008, in reaction to new taxation measures announced by the Labour Party in the treatment of royalties on patents, the company moved its tax domicile to Dublin, Ireland.^[13] Effected through the creation of a new holding company in St Helier, Jersey in the Channel Islands, it will pay reduced tax on global earnings, where royalties on patents lodged in Ireland are tax free.

Corporate leadership[link]

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.

See also[link]

• Pharmaceutical industry in the United Kingdom

References[link]

External links[link]

Companies portal

• Official site
• German pharmaceutical branch
• Yahoo profile

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