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‘’’Helsinn’’’ Healthcare SA is a private, family-owned pharmaceutical company headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland. Its core business is buying late stage pharmaceutics for development and manufacture.

The company is headed by CEO Riccardo Braglia, son of founder Gabriele Braglia.

History
Helsinn was founded in Chiasso, Switzerland in 1976 as Biex Solaris by Gabriele Braglia. The company acquired a world-wide license for Nimesulide, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, from 3M Pharmaceuticals in 1980. Nimesulide was first marketed in Italy in 1985 and has been marketed in over 50 countries.

Helsinn opened their first manufacturing facility in Biasca, Switzerland in 1983. The company expanded its manufacturing operations to Ireland in 1990, when it purchased Dublin-based Birex Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Helsinn named the new operation Helsinn Briex Pharmaceuticals Ltd. The company added a second manufacturing plant in Biasca, Switzerland in 1998 under the name Helsinn Advanced Synthesis, S.A.

Helsinn acquired the worldwide licensing for Palonosetron, a drug used to combat chemotherapy-induced nausea, from Roche in 1998. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Palonosetron for sale in the United States in 2003 under the brand name Aloxi.

The company acquired Sapphire Therapeutics, Inc., a company focused on developing cancer-treating products, in 2009. The acquisition gave Helsinn a New Jersey-based subsidiary, which it renamed Helsinn Therapeutics.

Helsinn completed the construction of a new research and development center at it’s Dublin, Ireland facilities in 2010. The opening of the new center was led by Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan. The company’s Biasca, Switzerland operation also added a cytotoxic API manufacturing facility in 2012. The cytotoxic facility produces Category 4 cytotoxic compounds.

Operations
Helsinn is headquartered in Switzerland with facilities in the United States, Ireland and Switzerland. It’s wholly-owned subsidiaries are:


 * Helsinn Advanced Synthesis, S.A. located in Biasca, Switzerland
 * Helsinn Birex Pharmaceuticals Ltd. located in Dublin, Ireland
 * Helsinn Therapeutics located in New Jersey, United States

Recognition
Ernst & Young awarded CEO Riccardo Braglia with their 2013 World Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Switzerland.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology announced that Helsinn contributed $1 million to the ASCO Conquer Cancer foundation. ASCO also named Helsinn as the first company to contribute $1 million to the foundation.