Headquarters: 2525 Dupont Drive, Irvine
Employees: 5,055; 2,500 in OC
Business: Eye, skin drugs, medical cosmetics
Market value, as of April 4: $14.5 billion
12-month revenue: $2.3 billion, up 13%
12-month net income: $403.9 million, up 7%
Year in review: Allergan Inc. made a big move last year to expand its business of selling medical products used largely for cosmetic reasons.
In November, Allergan swooped in with a $3.2 billion offer for Inamed Corp., a Santa Barbara-based maker of breast implants, skin products and obesity treatments. Its offer beat one from rival Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp.
Meanwhile, Allergan’s flagship drug, wrinkle smoother Botox, continued to expand and made up nearly 40% of fourth-quarter sales. But Botox’s 6% growth in the quarter came up short of what some analysts had been expecting.
The company’s chief executive, David Pyott, went on the defensive, arguing there were six fewer selling days in the quarter than a year earlier and sales were up 23% on a comparable basis.
Allergan continued work on Botox as a treatment for migraines last year and is looking at it for other uses. The company moved along in trials of memantine, a glaucoma pill Allergan says is the first to preserve vision.
Work on tazarotene for psoriasis was scrapped after Allergan received a “non-approvable” letter from regulators in 2004.
What’s ahead: Allergan closed on its buy of Inamed in March. Now the company must integrate Inamed into its operation.
Inamed now is a division within Allergan. Botox Cosmetic falls under the division. After the deal, Allergan now gets about half its business from eye drugs,its historic mainstay,with the rest coming from Botox, skin drugs and newly acquired cosmetics lines from Inamed. The deal also brings the company into two new businesses: obesity treatments and breast implants.
Allergan said it sees sales of $2.8 billion to $2.9 billion in 2006. Net income could be up to $483 million, including stock expenses.
Wall Street’s take: Allergan’s shares have been on a steady climb for the past six months, with some dips here and there.
Shares fell in February over concerns about slower Botox growth. The stock is flat for the year with a pullback late last month.
WHO’S IN CHARGE
DAVID PYOTT
Chairman, chief executive
Joined company: 1998
Education: holds diploma in German, European law from University of Amsterdam, master’s from University of Edinburgh, business master’s from London Business School
Career: Joined Sandoz, which became part of Novartis AG, in 1980. Spent 15 years in various positions with drug maker. Named head of Sandoz Nutrition unit in 1995.
Notable: Speaks English, German, French and Spanish.