Biovail Corporation
 |
|
| Public | |
| Traded as | : BVF |
| Industry |
Biotechnology Pharmaceutical |
| Fate | Merged with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Founder |
Eugene Melnyk Rolf Reininghaus |
| Defunct | 2010 |
| Headquarters | Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
|
Area served
|
North America |
|
Key people
|
Dr. Douglas J.P. Squires (Chairman of the Board) William M. Wells (CEO) |
| Products |
Medicine Drugs |
| Revenue |
 $ 757.18 million (2008)
|
|
$ 114.24 million (2008)
|
|
 $ 199.90 million (2008)
|
|
| Total assets |
$ 1.623 billion (2008)
|
| Total equity |
$ 1.201 billion (2008)
|
|
Number of employees
|
1,368 - March 2009 |
| Divisions | Biovail Pharmaceuticals Canada (BPC) Biovail Contract Research (Canada) Biovail Corporation (Canada) |
| Subsidiaries | Biovail Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BPI) (U.S.) Biovail Technologies Ltd. (U.S.) Biovail Laboratories - Dorado (Puerto Rico) Biovail Laboratories - Carolina (Puerto Rico) Biovail Laboratories International SRL (Barbados) Biovail Technologies (Ireland) Limited |
| Website | www.biovail.com |
Biovail Corporation was a Canadian pharmaceutical company, operating internationally in all aspects of pharmaceutical products. Its major production facility was located in Steinbach, Manitoba. It merged with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International in 2010.
In March 2006, CBS program 60 Minutes featured Biovail in a story about its lawsuit against hedge fund SAC Capital Partners and Camelback (now known as Gradient Analytics), among others. According to Eugene Melnyk, "there’s a group of people that got together and essentially attacked the company by putting out false reports, and we’re just fighting back for our shareholders."
The alleged conspiracy began with Camelback, an Arizona stock-analysis firm that advertises that it publishes impartial financial reports on companies to help investors evaluate stocks. In the spring of 2003, the hedge fund SAC asked them for a report on Biovail. Darryl Smith, Mark Rosenblum, Demetrios Anifantis, and Robert Ballash, former Camelback employees, alleged that Camelback had allowed their client SAC to determine the content and timing of their reports on Biovail.
Camelback said those former employees were lying and disgruntled, that Anifantis and Ballash were fired because of unethical conduct; Smith for poor performance; Rosenblum was laid off. These four say they were let go after they complained to their superiors about Camelback’s practices. SAC denied all the charges in Biovail's lawsuit and said that the decline in the Biovail's stock was due to earnings shortfalls and regulatory investigations.
In March, 2008, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Biovail and some of its former officers, alleging that "present and former senior Biovail executives, obsessed with meeting quarterly and annual earnings guidance, repeatedly overstated earnings and hid losses in order to deceive investors and create the appearance of achieving earnings goals. When it ultimately became impossible to continue concealing the company's inability to meet its own earnings guidance, Biovail actively misled investors and analysts about the reasons for the company's poor performance." Biovail settled for $10 million US.Gradient Analytics, successor to Camelback, issued a press release stating that the SEC’s suit "confirms the validity of Gradient’s critical analysis of Biovail but raises serious questions about how companies retaliate against analysts with threats, intimidation, and lawsuits."
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Wikipedia