Alvogen
Alvogen is an American pharmaceuticals company founded in 2009. In 2014, a controlling stake in the company was acquired by CVC Capital Partners and Temasek Holdings. Alvogen has about 350 different medical and non-medical products, and both produces its own products and markets the products of brand name pharmaceutical companies. History. Alvogen was founded in 2009 by Robert Wessman, who stepped down from his position as CEO of Actavis in order to found the company. Soon after its founding it had 200 products in development. Since 2012, Alvogen has acquired three different companies in Taiwan and South Korea  (Alvogen Korea), where it operates as Lotus Pharmaceuticals (which Alvogen purchased in 2014 for $200 million) and is listed on Taipei Stock Exchange (1795.TT). In 2015, Alvogen acquired DreamPharma for $187 million. It is also the parent company of Norwich Pharmaceuticals, which does the firm's manufacturing. In 2015, a controlling interest in Alvogen was acquired by CVC Capital Partners and the Singapore sovereign fund Temasek. As of 2017, the company had 2800 employees spread over thirty-five countries. In 2016, Alvogen also acquired the US company County Line Pharmaceuticals for $300 million. In 2017, Alvogen was  valued at $4 billion. Pharmaceuticals. Alvogen markets 350 different products including generic drugs, branded medicines, biosimilar products, cosmetics, and food supplements, for areas including oncology, cardiology, pulmonology, and neurology. Much of its products for European markets are manufactured at a factory in Romania, and packaged in Serbia. Companies that market their products through Alvogen or have sold their generic drugs to Alvogen for sale, include Bayer, Mylan, Natco, and Pfizer. In 2017, Alvogen partnered with Vivus to provide the anti-obesity drug phentermine/topiramate to the South Korean market and partnered with Omega Bittner to provide products in the  Russian market. In 2017, Alvogen also became the first company to bring a generic oseltamivir to the US market. That year, Alvogen had 75 additional products under review with the FDA for approval for sale in the US market. Alvotech. Alvogen has a subsidiary company called Alvotech that researches biosimilars, which was founded in 2013 by Alvogen founder Robert Wessman. It expects to launch its product line in 2020, committing $300 million to its research and development. Alvotech is based out of Iceland, and it has four research and production sites across Europe. Controversies. In 2021, Alvogen conducted an  internal review into the conduct of CEO Robert Wessman after a former executive made serious allegations of abusive and bullying behavior over a period of years, criticizing Wessman’s conduct and governance. Consequently, the company’s board cleared Wessman of inappropriate conduct and fired the executive from his position. The executive alleged in a statement to Bloomberg that he had "personally experienced and witnessed numerous instances of inappropriate behavior by Wessman from 2010 to his departure from the company". The allegations included making death threats to former colleagues. After the publication of the death threats in the media, Alvogen's  spokesperson apologised on Wessman’s behalf. In September 2021, Wessman as the CEO of Alvogen was accused by Swedish doctor Essam Mansour, who invested $500,000 in Alvogen in 2009, of excluding him from participation in the company and of Wessman appearing at meetings of the company on his behalf without authorisation. Though Wessman denies these allegations. In March 2022, Alvogen CEO Wessman was linked to a burglary at the offices of Mannlif, the Icelandic news publication. The editor of Mannlif, Reynir Traustason, filed a lawsuit against Wessman as the individual responsible for the crime. Wessman though has denied any  involvement from his part.