Medicis Pharmaceutical

Medicis Pharmaceutical
Public
Traded as NYSE: MRX
Industry Biotechnology
Founded 1988
Founder Jonah Shacknai
Headquarters Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Revenue $700 million (2010)[1]
$207 million (2010)[1]
$123 million (2010)[1]
Website medicis.com

Medicis Pharmaceutical is a medical cosmetics company founded in 1988 and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.[2] Among their products are Solodyn and Ziana for treating acne, and Restylane and Dysport for treating facial wrinkles.[3] As of September 2011, the company has also sold its rights to the LipoSonix system to Solta Medical, for $35 million. LipoSonix is an ultrasound device intended to help destroy fat deposits in the vicinity of the stomach, referred to as "belly fat".[4]

Corporate structure

In December 1997, Medicis acquired the Lincoln, Illinois GenDerm Corporation, a dermatology pharmaceuticals company.[5] The merger was estimated to be worth $90 million. Medicis also acquired Ucyclyd Pharma, a Baltimore-based private company, for $23.4 million in cash in April 1999. Ucyclyd's main product was Buphenyl (sodium phenylbutyrate), used for treating urea cycle disorders.[6] In 2005, they rejected a $2.2 billion unsolicited takeover proposal by Mentor.[7]

Chief Executive Officer

Jonah Shacknai, 54, is the founder and CEO of Medicis Pharmaceutical.[2] He came to media attention in 2011 due to the deaths of his girlfriend Rebecca Zahau and of his son Max Shacknai, which occurred within days of each other.[8] The day after Zahau's death, Medicis had its sharpest one-day decline in stock price since February.[9] Shacknai took time off from work following the deaths, and indicated that he would resume his regular attendance at Medicis' offices in September.[3]

2012 Takeover

On Monday September 3, 2012, Canadian company Valeant Pharmaceuticals tentatively offered 2.6 billion dollars for the company hoping to expand its influence in the dermatological aspect of the pharmaceutical market. This offer would be approximately $44.00 a share.[10] The sale was completed in Dec 2012, and within 24 hours over 300 employees were terminated.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Medicis Reflections: Annual Report, Medicis Pharmaceutical, 2010, retrieved 2011-09-17
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kelsey Kaustinen (2012-09-05), "Valeant nabs Medicis for $2.6 billion", Drug Discovery News, retrieved 2012-10-14
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Duell, Mark (2011-09-17), "The frantic phone calls and messages sent before millionaire's lover Rebecca Zahau was found hanging on mansion balcony", Daily Mail, retrieved 2011-09-17
  4. ↑ "Medicis agrees to sell LipoSonix system to Solta", Business Week, 2011-09-13, retrieved 2011-09-21
  5. ↑ Banks, Claudia (1997-12-02), "Medicis to acquire skin-care firm", Chicago Tribune, retrieved 2011-09-17
  6. ↑ "Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation Announces Acquisition of Ucyclyd Pharma Inc.", Gale HealthWire, 1999-04-19, retrieved 2011-09-17
  7. ↑ Feder, Barnaby J. (2005-11-22), "Mentor Leaves Options Open on Its Bid for Medicis", The New York Times, retrieved 2011-09-09
  8. ↑ Loftus, Peter (2011-09-02), "Health industry: Death Of Medicis CEO's Girlfriend Ruled a Suicide", The Wall Street Journal, retrieved 2011-09-09
  9. ↑ "Mysterious Deaths at Spreckels Mansion: 'Loud Party' the Day After Max Shacknai's Accident", International Business Times, 2011-07-18, retrieved 2011-09-09
  10. ↑ Terlep, Sharon. "Valeant buys Medicis". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 3 September 2012.