Description
Assertio Therapeutics is an American specialty pharmaceutical company. It mainly markets products for treatment in neurology, pain and diseases of the central nervous system. Depomed was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Newark, California. It is a publicly traded company on NASDAQ, with several products approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On August 15, 2018, the company announced its name change from Depomed, Inc., to Assertio Therapeutics, Inc. As of 2019, Assertio markets three products approved by the FDA: Gralise, Cambia, and Zipsor.
History
1995-2009
Depomed was founded in 1995 and later became headquartered in Newark, California. A joint venture between Élan and Depomed, DDL, was established in January 2000. Élan withdrew from operational involvement in September 2003, with Depomed gaining full ownership. In September 2003, the company's subsidiary Depomed Development Ltd. acquired the exclusive rights to develop and commercialize Gabapentin ER. The drug had been developed by DDL. 2003 saw a net loss of $30 million, compared to $13.5 million in 2002. In 2004, John W. Fara was president, CEO, and chairman. The company had 75 people, and was starting a new focus on marketing after FDA approvals for Proquin XR and Depomed's filing of Glumetza for approval. By May 2004, Depomed had been issued a patent covering the use of gabapentin to treat hot flushes. That month, it also received a patent covering "proprietary polymer combinations (as used in AcuForm tablets) to create improved formulations of existing drugs." The patent was first sublicensed to the University of Rochester, then PharmaNova in October 2006. The company faced a net loss of $24.5 million in 2005, compared to a net loss of $27 million in 2004.
In April 2006, Depomed entered a license agreement with Esprit Pharma over Proquin XR, a "prolonged-release formulation of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride" to treat urinary tract infections. In July 2008, the FDA released a warning about drugs such as Depomed Inc's Proquin XR, an antibiotic, about the risk of tendonitis and ruptured tendons.
2010-2014
By 2010 the company was based in Menlo Park, California, and stated it intended to become profitable in 2011. By 2010, Depomed was supplying its entire logistics system with plastic pallets, after it had to recall a shipment of the diabetes drug Glumetza for potential contamination of wood pallets. As of March 2011, Carl A. Pelzel was CEO and president of Depomed. Depomed had one approved product on the market, Gralise, and had one other approved but not released: Glumetza. That month, Boehringer Ingelheim purchased the rights to use Depomed's Acuform manufacturing technology. The FDA approved Gralise for the management of postherpetic neralgia in January 2012.
On June 21, 2012, Depomed acquired the rights to Zipsor, an NSAID made by Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals. In particular, the Zipsor Liquid Filled Capsules were acquired. Revenue generated by Zipsor was approximately US$19,000,000 as within the twelve months from June 2011 to May 2012. For $240 million, DL BioPharma purchased the royalty rights to Depomed's Glumetza, a type 2 diabetes drug, in October 2013. The year prior, Depomed had generated $43 million in royalty revenue off the drug.
2015-2017
In January 2015, Depomed acquired Nucynta ER and XR from Johnson & Johnson for $1.05 billion. Horizon Pharma made a hostile $3 billion bid for Depomed in July 2015,[20] withdrawing the bid after the Depomed board rejected the offer. At the time, Depomed had five pain treatments on the market, including Nucynta, considered its flagship product. Assets in 2015 came to $1.3 billion. Equity that year was $315 million, and it had 494 employees that December.
In early April 2016, activist investor Starboard Value accused DepoMed of being "unfriendly to shareholders," noting in part a plan to relocate from California to Delaware. Several weeks later, the Delaware move was dropped. In September 2016, there were reports that Depomed was considering a sale, after Starboard called for the option to be explored in April 2016. In October 2016, Starboard Value struck a deal with Depomed that gave the former three more spots on Depomed's board. In March 2017, more activity by activist investors resulted in CEO Jim Schoeneck being replaced by Arthur Higgins. In December 2017, Depomed announced it was moving away from the opioid market and divesting of its Nucynta opioid franchise. Nucynta's rights were sold to Collegium Pharmaceutical, for $10 million upfront and royalty payments until December 2022. That year, Depomed's net revenue was $381 million.
2018-2019
In January 2018 the company laid off 40% of its workforce after the divestment of its pain medication Nucynta. On August 15, 2018, the company announced its name change from Depomed, Inc., to Assertio Therapeutics, Inc. In 2018, Assertio also moved its headquarters from California to Lake Forest, from Newark, California to Lake Forest, Illinois.
By March 2019, Assertio's stock had lost half its value since 2016. In September 2019, Crain's Chicago Business argued that Assertio's diversification campaign was "sputtering", with Assertio stock having dropped 80% in the prior year. Operating income in 2019 was $3.33 million. Becker's Hospital Review listed it as one of 31 drugmakers at high risk of going bankrupt in 2020.
