Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company that specializes in the development and marketing of drugs for use in human medicine. It was founded by Frederik Paulsen Sr in Malmö, Sweden, in 1950, initially as the Nordiska Hormon Laboratoriet, renamed Ferring in 1954. A ferring in Frisian is a person from the island Föhr off the western coast of Germany. Mr. Paulsen's family originates from that island.
The first major breakthrough was the synthetic production of oxytocin and vasopressin in 1961. With further growth and expansion, the headquarters moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, and subsequently to Switzerland. In August 2011, the company held over 4,000 employees with manufacturing facilities in Europe, South America, Israel and China. Products are used in gastroenterology, urology, reproductive health and endocrinology.
In 2007 Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg joined the Danish board of directors of Ferring Pharmaceuticals.[1][2]