Allergan

Allergan

Allergan was founded in 1950 as a small eye-care business in Los Angeles, acquiring critical momentum under CEO David Pyott from 1998 onward. Pyott transformed the company into a $70B market-cap leader in medical aesthetics, neuroscience, and eye health, with brands like Botox and Restasis driving revenue. The firm's headquarters moved to Irvine, California, where its footprint anchored a regional research hub for pharmaceutical development. Allergan's strategy centered on aggressive R&D investment and targeted acquisitions — it spent over $2.5 billion annually on research by 2018, with a pipeline spanning migraine treatments (Ubrelvy), glaucoma therapies, and dermal fillers. Its portfolio included branded drugs, biologic products, and medical devices sold across 100 countries, with a particularly strong presence in the US, Europe, and Asia. The firm's largest single investment came in 2015 when it acquired the generics powerhouse Allergan plc (renamed later) for $40.5 billion in a reverse merger structure. The company employed over 16,000 people at its peak (per SEC filings, 2019), with key R&D and manufacturing sites in Irvine, Dublin, and Waltham, Massachusetts. In 2019, AbbVie announced its acquisition of Allergan in a $63 billion cash-and-stock deal, closing in May 2020. Post-acquisition, the Allergan name continued as a subsidiary, with Brent Saunders — who had returned as CEO in 2018 — overseeing integration. Allergan's corporate structure during the Pyott era was unusual for its dual listing on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange, reflecting its global ambitions. The firm also operated the Allergan Foundation, which donated over $20 million annually (per foundation tax filings) to healthcare access and medical research initiatives, entirely separate from its commercial operations. That foundation — now part of the AbbVie ecosystem — remains a separate entity with its own board.