How it started
Early history
Shire was founded in 1986 in the UK by five entrepreneurs: Harry Stratford, Dennis Stephens, Peter Moriarty, Geoff Hall and Dr Jim Murray. Under the management of Rolf Stahel, Shire was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996. Shire's initial products were calcium supplements (Calcichew-D3) for patients seeking to treat or prevent osteoporosis. In 1997 the company acquired Pharmavene for £105 million in order to access Pharmavene's drug delivery methods. Later in the same year Shire acquired Richwood Pharmaceutical Company, forming Shire-Richwood Inc.
2000 to 2009
In 2001 the company acquired Biochem Canada. Shire's next acquisition didn't come until 2005 when it acquired Transkaryotic Therapeutics and two years later – in 2007 – New River Pharmaceuticals Inc, for a then company record of $2.6 billion. With the purchase of New River, Shire gained access and ownership of Vyvanse. A year later the company acquired the German company Jerini, for $521 million. Jerini focused on treating hereditary angioedema.
In 2008, in reaction to new taxation measures announced by the UK government in the treatment of royalties on patents, the company moved its tax domicile to Dublin, Ireland.
2010 onwards
From Wikipedia’s article on Shire plc, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3