They made and distributed insulin to the world's diabetes sufferers. Mulroney's Tories decided there was gold in Connaught. They offered it for public sale to Canadians. It was called giving Canadian assets back to Canadians. Canadian investors didn't want a new security that couldn't double overnight.
Investors tend to be in there for the short haul.
Failing to interest Canadian investors in the long-term benefits of being a leader in the development of new vaccines, they put the whole thing up for sale to the highest bidder. Again the marketplace took charge. Two major bids came in. One from Swiss Ciba Geigy and the other from French Pasteur-Merieux. The Swiss company was seen to be the better company but the higher bid came from Merieux.