LYCOS RETRIEVER
King Pharmaceuticals: Companies
built 655 days ago
CRANBURY, N.J. and BRISTOL, Tenn., May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Palatin Technologies, Inc. and King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the companies have completed enrollment in two Phase IIb clinical trials of bremelanotide in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED). Bremelanotide is a melanocortin agonist that Palatin and King are jointly developing for the treatment of both male and female sexual dysfunction. The primary objective of these two dose-ranging clinical trials is to identify safe and efficacious doses for evaluation in Phase III pivotal trials slated to begin in the first quarter of 2007.
Source:
BRISTOL, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE:KG - News) announced today actions it is taking to accelerate a planned strategic shift, emphasizing its focus in neuroscience and hospital/acute care to maximize its long-term growth. The Company is taking these actions, which include a workforce reduction of approximately 20% and other general and administrative expense decreases, in light of recent challenges to its ALTACE® (ramipril) franchise. King expects to realize the full benefit of these initiatives commencing in 2008. The Company estimates that the 2008 cost savings from these actions will range from $75 million to $90 million.
Source:
King Pharmaceuticals evolved with a rich history, as did many of the pharmaceutical companies in the United States. Still, King is one of the newer kids on the proverbial pharmaceutical block. In fact, the company was founded in January of 1994 in Bristol, Tennessee. The company is considerably smaller than other, larger pharmaceutical outfits and often creates products under contract from larger companies such as GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis. The company has still progressed on its own. For example, in June 2003, King acquired Elan’s “primary care business,” a company that makes Sonata and Skelaxin.
Source:
In late 1998, King Pharmaceuticals purchased it’s most successful drug, Altace, for $362.5 million. As a result of increasing the number of sales reps 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. The company, seeing fewer opportunities to obtain branded drugs, acquired an R&D company based to in North Carolina ... in 2000. In 2002, King purchased a maker of auto-injectors, Meridian Medical Technologies.
Source:
King Pharmaceuticals rules! The company makes branded pharmaceuticals, including cardiovascular, critical care, and neuroscience products. Among the company's most popular drugs are cardiovascular treatment Altace and Levoxyl, a thyroid disorder drug. The firm contracts its excess manufacturing capabilities to outside pharmaceutical companies. The company sells its products through direct sales representatives and wholesale distributors to physicians and medical facilities. Its Meridian Medical Technologies subsidiary develops auto-injectors, including the EpiPen for treatment of allergic reactions.
Source:
King Pharmaceuticals was founded in 1993 by John M. Gregory.[4] In January 1994, King acquired a former Beecham plant in Bristol, TN. The 500,000-square-foot (46,000 m²) facility was purchased for $1.18 million from RSR Pharmaceutical, who had been using it after Beecham merged with SmithKline. King initially began only manufacturing drugs for other pharmaceutical companies, but soon established its long standing strategy of acquiring branded prescription drugs, which have a much higher gross margin than contract manufactured drugs. From 1994 to 1998, King obtained about twenty smaller branded drugs and then went public in June 1998.
Source: