Aspen Pharmacare

Overview

Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited

type	Public
traded as	jse: APN JSE Limited
predecessor	Lennon Ltd
foundation	1850, public 1997, Durban, South Africa
hq location city	La Lucia Ridge, uMhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal
hq location country	South Africa
key people	Stephen Saad (Group CE)
industry	Health care, pharmaceutical industry
products	Specialty branded pharmaceuticals including steriles, injectables, oral solid dose, liquids, semi-solids, biologicals, active pharmaceutical ingredients
revenue	R40.709 billion (FY 2023)‡R1R‡
net income	R16.811 billion (FY 2023)‡R2R‡
assets	R134.284 billion (FY 2023)‡R3R‡‡R2R‡
equity	R86.236 billion (FY 2023)‡R4R‡‡R5R‡‡R2R‡
num employees	9,100‡R6R‡
homepage	http://www.aspenpharma.com/

Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited is a public multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in uMhlanga, South Africa. Founded in 1997, it listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in 1998, and purchased South African Druggists in 1999 before expanding into international markets. Currently the largest pharmaceutical company in Africa[7] through aggressive mergers and expansion, with major manufacturing sites in locations such as Gqeberha in South Africa, Bad Oldesloe in Germany,[8] Notre-Dame-de-Bondeville in France,[9] and Oss, Netherlands,[10] Aspen is known for manufacturing and distributing branded pharmaceuticals as well as generic HIV/AIDS antiretrovirals (ARVs)[11] and cancer medications.

History

Founding and acquisitions (1997-2003)

According to the company website, the legacy company behind Aspen Holdings was founded in 1850 by Berry Grey Lennon, an Irish chemist, who opened a drug store in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. In 1898, B.G. Lennon & Co. established itself as Lennon Ltd, and by 1930 it was the largest pharmaceutical company in the southern hemisphere. Mergers continued throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Lennon was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in 1968, and in 1975 it started a research and development department to develop and register generic drugs.

Separate from Lennon, the originating Aspen company was founded in 1997[14] by South African businesspeople Stephen Saad, Gus Attridge, and Steve Sturlese,[11] as well as a fourth shareholder. The business was initially located in Durban, South Africa. With backing from Investec, Aspen listed on the JSE[15] in 1998. Aspen purchased South African Druggists (SAD) in 1999, the oldest pharmaceutical business in South Africa, for R2.4 billion in a hostile take over.[15] SAD still owned a large manufacturing facility in Gqeberha[11] and the Lennon home remedies brand.

With Saad serving as chief executive and Attridge as deputy chief executive, co-founder Steve Sturlese left the company in 2001,[11] and that year Aspen expanded into Australia. Also in 2001, Saad negotiated the "first-ever voluntary" licenses to manufacture generic versions of antiretrovirals (ARVs) to treat HIV, ending a "stand off" between the South African government and various multinational drug companies[11] over anticompetitive activities. Also, in 2001, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) granted Aspen the right to manufacture low-cost generics of three of its ARVs.[16] By 2003, Aspen was the largest generic medicine distributor in South Africa. In August 2003, Aspen launched Aspen Stavudine - its first generic ARV drug,[17] building an Oral Solid Dosage drug facility in Gqeberha to produce what was Africa's first generic antiretroviral. Aspen's efforts led to expanded access to affordable treatments for HIV/AIDS.

International expansion (2004-2019)

Aspen acquired Fine Chemicals Corporation in Cape Town, South Africa in 2004,[18] which was the only producer of active pharmaceutical ingredients in South Africa. Also in 2004 it acquired Infacare from Royal Numico. In 2005, Aspen was granted a license by Merck & Co. to produce efavirenz and by 2005 Aspen was the largest supplier of ARVs in Africa.[19] In 2007, Aspen announced it would expand into Latin America in partnership with Strides Pharma Science Limited. At the time, Aspen had operations in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, India, Kenya, and Tanzania.[11] Aspen was producing nine ARVs by 2009. In June 2009, Aspen was contracted to provide ARVs to the South African government's HIV/AIDS treatment program. Also, Aspen increased its production to fulfill the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) orders from the United States.[20]

Corporate developments, new products (2020-2023)

In 2020, Aspen focused on meeting a demand for dexamethasone pills, a steroid used on extremely ill patients in the COVID-19 pandemic.[33] Also in 2020, Aspen opened a US$80 million high-containment facility in Gqeberha, and announced a further US$160 million to be spent on two additional sterile plants,[34] "paving the way for a push into vaccines." In March 2021, Aspen began manufacturing Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine,[35] becoming responsible for "fill and finish" of Janssen COVID-19 vaccine stock made elsewhere. In February 2021 the South African government had signed a contract for 11 million doses of this vaccine and ordered another 20 million doses in April 2021. In late 2021, Aspen announced a contract with Johnson & Johnson to produce 700 million COVID-19 vaccine doses by January 2023.[36] After worries that the vaccine fill stock made by an

Pricing investigations

Aspen has been criticized for aggressively increasing the prices of generic drugs it sells, leading to a number of investigations and fines.[46] In October 2016, Aspen was fined $5.5 million by the Italian Competition Authority for price hikes[46] initiated between 2012 and 2014 in respect to certain cancer drugs.[46] Aspen unsuccessfully[47] appealed the ruling,[46] arguing that while the hikes appeared large, they resulted from "a very low and unsustainable price base."[48] By 2016 Aspen was also being accused of the same practices, including artificially restricting supply, in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, France, Brazil, and South Africa. In a British study, it was found that Aspen's Busulfan, a cancer treatment used by the British National Health Service, had undergone a price hike of 1,143% between 2011 and 2016. Aspen argued to The Times that the price hikes had been at "levels appropriate to promote long-term sustainable supply to patients" while also arguing that shortages of cancer medicines had not been deliberate, but tied to temporary manufacturing limitations.[49]

In October 2017, the South African Competition Commission dropped its investigation into Aspen's pricing of various cancer medicines after determining "an excessive pricing case could not be sustained against them."[50] That year, The Guardian noted that Aspen's share value had risen significantly during the period when the price increases had been implemented, and that GSK had profitably sold its Aspen shares in three tranches. Aspen responded that the "oncology portfolio in question" had not been responsible for the majority of its generated revenue during that time,[51] with The Times noting that the drugs generated "just 2.7%" of Aspen's R35.6-billion revenue in 2016.[52] After an investigation by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority into arrangements Aspen made regarding the UK market for Fludrocortisone, Aspen agreed to pay the National Health Service £8 million in 2019.[53]

After a three year investigation[54] into Aspen's pricing of generic cancer drugs,[46] in July 2020 the European Commission announced that Aspen had committed to a price reduction on six cancer drugs of 73% for over 10 years,[54] while guaranteeing supply over at least 5 years to the European Economic Area sans Italy.[54] The investigation was conducted due to rising prices for five drugs (chlorambucil, melphalan, mercaptopurine, tioguanine and busulfan). The commission found that from 2012 to 2019, Aspen had in the EEA persistently earned high profits with its average prices "exceeding costs by almost 300%" for products that had been off-patent for about 50 year. In order to prevent any further abuse of a dominant position, if Aspen intended to discontinue its supplies, the company must inform any concerned member states at least one year in advance, as well as making EU marketing authorizations for the products available for any interested third party to acquire. While Aspen had disagreed with the commission's preliminary assessment, the company "proposed commitments to the commission that would be satisfactory to all the parties involved" to address competition concerns. In February 2021, the 73% price reduction was agreed upon as binding. No fines were levied.[54]

Aspen Pharmacare

History

Founding and acquisitions (1997-2003)

International expansion (2004-2019)

Corporate developments, new products (2020-2023)

Operations

Pricing investigations

See also

External links

References