Abraxis BioScience
Former biopharmaceutical and nano-medicine company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abraxis BioScience was a global biopharmaceutical, and nano-medicine company that developed treatments for critically ill patients. It had over 2000 employees worldwide in 2007. Abraxis's portfolio included the world's first protein-based nanoparticle chemotherapeutic compound, called nab Technology.[3] From this the company developed Abraxane, a treatment for metastatic breast cancer.[4]
| Industry | Pharmaceutical |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2001 in Los Angeles, California[1] |
| Founder | Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong |
| Defunct | 2010 |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people |
|
| Products | Protein-based therapeutics and technologies for treatment of cancer and other critical illnesses |
| Brands | Abraxane |
| Services | Cancer drugs |
| Revenue |  US$359 million (2009)[2] |
 US$−113 million (2009)[2] | |
| US$−104 million (2009)[2] | |
| Total assets | US$1.068 billion (2009)[2] |
| Total equity | US$846 million (2009)[2] |
| Owner | Celgene |
Number of employees | 885 (2009)[2] |
In 2010, Abraxis BioScience was acquired by Celgene Corporation.[5]
History
Abraxis was incorporated in 2001 in Los Angeles.[1] It was formerly known as American Pharmaceutical Partners (APP), which as known for its injectable oncology, anti-infective and critical care.[6] Besides cancer treatments, it provided treatment for multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's, and some cardiovascular diseases.[1] It had manufacturing plants in Melrose Park, Illinois and Phoenix, Arizona.[1] By 2005, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong merged American BioScience and the publicly-held APP, naming it Abraxis BioScience.[7] Under this new name, seventy-four trials were undertaken to test Abraxane against various cancer targets.[7] The drug, which was approved by the FDA in 2005, was the subject of a litigation (Elan Pharma v. Abraxis BioScience) for patent infringement.[8] In 2008, Abraxis was ordered to pay $55.2 million to Elan.[8]
In August 2007, Abraxis announced it would again undergo a restructuring to separate its "hospital-based products business" from its "proprietary products business" into two public companies; this would involve the merging of Abraxis Oncology and Abraxis Research sub-units to form a new Abraxis Bioscience (Abraxis Bioscience, Inc., Nasdaq: ABII), and the spinoff of Abraxis Pharmaceutical Products (APP, Inc., Nasdaq: APPX).[9] This reorganization was completed in November 2007.[10] During the reorganization, the new Abraxis Bioscience was known briefly as New Abraxis.[10]
In 2010, Abraxis BioScience was acquired by Celgene Corporation.[5] Per Celgene's website, as of at least 2016 Abraxis no longer exists as a named division within Celgene.[citation needed]
