Valeant Pharmaceuticals International

Type: Public
On the web: http://www.valeant.com
Employees: 3,301
Employee growth: (4.1%)

Valeant Pharmaceuticals is in the antivirus business, but don't look for its goods in the software aisle. The firm makes about 390 prescription and OTC drugs focusing on the areas of neurology and dermatology. It sells its products in North America and Central Europe, and in Brazil and Australia. Major Valeant drugs include skin cancer therapy Efudix; Mestinon, a treatment for severe muscle weakness; and epilepsy treatment Diastat. The company also earns income from partnerships with GlaxoSmithKline for epilepsy treatment retigabine, and Merck & Co. for antiviral ribavirin (brand name Virazole). Valeant has a marketing joint venture in Australia, Canada, and Mexico with Swiss pharma firm Meda AB.

Key numbers for fiscal year ending December, 2008:
Sales: $657.0M
One year growth: (24.7%)
Net income: ($23.7)M

Officers:
Chairman and CEO: J. Michael (Mike) Pearson
President: Bhaskar Chaudhuri
EVP and CFO: Peter J. Blott

Competitors:
Eisai Inc.
Novartis
Roche Holding

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International

Type	Public company (NYSE:VRX)
Founded	1960
Headquarters	headquarters Aliso Viejo, California, United States
Key people	Michael Pearson (CEO)
Industry	Pharmaceutical industry
Products	Cesamet (nabilone) - Efudex - Mestinon - Diastat - Ribavirin (licensed to Schering Plough)
Revenue	$US 683 million (2004)
Website	http://www.valeant.com

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is a pharmaceutical company with activities spanning the drug discovery pipeline from target identification through clinical trials and commercialization. The focus of the company is on neurology, dermatology and infectious disease with several drugs in late-stage clinical trials and several currently on the market. In addition, Valeant has a portfolio of more than 500 products from its prior history as a group of speciality chemical and radiochemical research, development and supply companies with a history stretching back to the 1960s. The company has undergone major management, operational and strategic restructurings since the 1990s when shareholders of several group units approved the merger of ICN Pharmaceuticals, ICN Biomedicals, SPI Pharmaceuticals and Viratek into a new global entity, ICN Pharmaceuticals, the immediate forebear of Valeant. Kinerase(R), used kinetin as active is one of the most famous product of this company.

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