Our history
Some twenty years ago, Shire founders forged a singular path - setting into motion a specialty pharmaceutical company whose people dare to believe that collaborative work and uncompromising focus can transform ideas into products that measurably change the lives of patients.
Today, as a global specialty biopharmaceutical company listed on the London and NASDAQ exchanges, Shire is one of the fastest-growing biopharmaceutical companies in the world. It is a company with a portfolio of top-selling products and promising late-stage development candidates. It is also a place that consistently attracts some of the brightest talent in the industry. People who think bigger. People who see opportunity where others see obstacles. People who go to work with the expectation of making something significant happen.
Shire traces its history back to 1986, when a team of entrepreneurs began to capitalize on a number of unmet medical needs. Within its first two years of operation the UK-based specialty pharmaceutical company had launched a range of supplemental calcium products for patients seeking to treat or prevent osteoporosis. Soon thereafter innovative drug development programs were under way on behalf of patients facing such challenging conditions as Alzheimer’s disease and end-stage renal failure.
By 1992 Shire had embarked on the first of what would be a series of strategic acquisitions—bold ventures that fortified the product lines and underscored the wisdom of a business model focused exclusively on products sold to specialty physicians.
For more information on Shire’s acquisition history go to the M&A History page
The Shire pipeline continues to be sustained by creative acquisitions and innovative licensing deals. Smart commercialization strategies have ensured that the right patients and physicians have the information they need to make appropriate choices about treatment options.
Shire is organized into two divisions. Through its Specialty Pharmaceuticals division, Shire focuses on small-molecule medications within the therapeutic areas of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (including VYVANSE® and INTUNIV®), where it maintains a leadership position, and gastrointestinal disease (including LIALDA®and PENTASA®), among others.
Shire’s Human Genetic Therapies division, for its part, focuses on single mutation genetic diseases and the science that offers hope to those who suffer from such rare conditions as Hunter syndrome, Fabry disease, Gaucher disease, Sanfilippo Syndrome, and metachromatic leukodystrophy. Infusion products such as ELAPRASE® and REPLAGAL® are currently available in markets around the globe.
Click here for more detailed descriptions of our products.
With major operations in Basingstoke, UK, Wayne, PA and Lexington, MA, and a network of offices and distribution channels throughout Europe, South America, Canada, and the Pacific Rim, Shire employs some 4,000 people in more than 25 countries who continue to carry forward many of the original attributes of its founders—opportunistic thinking, transparent behavior, a deep commitment to doing what is right, and a prevailing concern for the patients and caregivers served by its well-differentiated product lines.
Responsibility
It’s at the core of everything that we do at Shire. Read about our involvement in our communities, and our initiatives promoting responsibility.
Did you know...
One of our brave employees ran the
London Marathon and raised
around $23,000 for
charity.
