15
January 29, 2018
Edited by
James E. Ellis
Businessweek.comLOOK AHEAD ○ Battery maker Energizer Holdings
hosts its annual meeting on Jan. 29
in St. Louis
○ McDonald’s will release its
fourth-quarter earnings report○ German auto giant Daimler holds
its annual investor conference in
Stuttgart on Feb. 2○ The drugmaker is beset by
patient lawsuits, regulatory
challenges, and looming debt
payments
Opioids. Vaginal mesh. Testosterone. These have
become some of the ugliest words in the pharma-
ceutical industry, telegraphing medical treatments
gone awry, in some cases leaving behind disabled
customers, epic legal battles, and vast capital
destruction. Some of the industry’s largest compa-
nies have been mired in lawsuits and government
probes over these issues. But no company has
been haunted by the drug industry’s worst night-
mares as mercilessly as Endo International Plc.
Just about everything that can go wrong in the
world of pharma has gone wrong at Endo, which
makes both branded and generic drugs. Through
a dealmaking spree largely led by its former chief
executive officer, the company amassed debt of
more than $8 billion—five times its market cap-
italization. That might be tolerable for a high-
growth company, but Endo faces cratering prices
for generic medicines even as it must deal with a
slew of litigation involving its products.
The new leadership says the Dublin, Ireland-
based company can fix all this; it will just take
time. “It’s very important to know that we’re not
running or hiding from our challenges,” says CEO
Paul Campanelli. “We’re well-equipped to handle
these types of issues.”
That includes writing massive checks to
get beyond some of Endo’s legal woes. As ofB U S I N E S S