Shire Pharmaceuticals was launched in the UK in 1986 by a team of passionate entrepreneurs, and was called Shire to match the name of the office building in which they started.
Within the first few years, Shire launched a range of products for the treatment or prevention of osteoporosis, and embarked on innovative drug development programmes in Alzheimer’s disease and kidney failure.
Through the process of product acquisition, innovative licensing and targeted clinical development, the product portfolio expanded. Today, Shire has a wide range of medicines, including treatments for:
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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
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Gastrointestinal disorders
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Osteoporosis
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Alzheimer’s disease
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Kidney failure
Shire’s Human Genetic Therapies division specialises in developing treatments for rare genetic disorders, and currently makes treatments for:
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Gaucher disease
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Hunter syndrome (mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) II)
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Fabry disease
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Hereditary angioedema
Today, Shire has major operations in Basingstoke in the UK, Dublin in the Republic of Ireland, and Wayne and Boston in the USA. We employ around 4000 people in 25 countries.
As a company, we are fully focused on a single goal: to enable people with life-altering conditions to lead better lives.