History

The origins of Biovail Corporation date back to the late 1980s when its predecessor company, Trimel Corporation, a medical publishing company founded in 1982, entered the field of controlled-release, drug-delivery technology.

Trimel was one of the first companies in the world to recognize the potential of this emerging sector. With the acquisition of advanced proprietary technologies and the addition of world-renowned scientist Dr. Arnold Beckett as Chief Scientific Officer, Trimel built a foundation upon which to quickly create a market-leadership position in controlled-release drug-delivery technology . By 1988, the Company had sold its medical-publications division to focus on drug-delivery; in turn, its operations were consolidated under the name Biovail Corporation International.

For the first half of the 1990s, Biovail’s strategy was to acquire and, in turn, partner enhanced controlled-release products early in the development cycle with pharmaceutical companies that controlled the clinical trials, regulatory process, manufacturing and sale of its products in a number of international markets. Identifying the business advantage of being able to manufacture its own products, Biovail broke ground on the construction of what is now its main manufacturing facility in Steinbach, Manitoba, 70 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg. In 1995, a year after Steinbach began operations, Biovail purchased the Puerto Rico manufacturing facility of Galephar P.R. Inc.

From the mid-1990s, Biovail has evolved into an integrated specialty pharmaceutical company, controlling the clinical trials, regulatory process, manufacturing, and marketing of its own products once they have reached an advanced stage of development. In 1995, Biovail established Crystaal Corporation to market both its products and licensed in the Canadian pharma market. This division is now known as Biovail Pharmaceuticals Canada.

Biovail continued to build its drug-delivery capabilities throughout the late 1990s through acquisitions, including Fuisz Technologies in 1999. The acquisition provided Biovail with additional, advanced controlled-release technology platforms, including Consurf, FlashDose® and Shearform.

In 2000, Biovail acquired DJ Pharma, a U.S. pharmaceutical sales and marketing organization, and renamed it Biovail Pharmaceuticals, Inc (BPI). The acquisition gave Biovail broadly based coverage of the North American pharmaceutical market.

Over the next several years, Biovail acquired rights to a number of products, including Cardizem® CD, Vasotec®, Ativan® and Isordil®. It further enhanced its drug-delivery technology portfolio through the acquisition of a number of novel technologies, including Smartcoat™ and Zero-Order Release System (ZORS™).

The past few years have represented a period of continued evolution for Biovail.

In May 2005, Biovail realigned its U.S. commercial operations; eliminating its primary-care sales force and entering into a supply-and-distribution agreement with Kos Pharmaceuticals (since acquired by Abbott) for Cardizem® LA. In December 2006, Biovail announced the elimination of the Company’s under-utilized specialty sales force. Today, Biovail engages strategic marketing partners to target physicians in the United States.

In Canada, Biovail Pharmaceuticals Canada , the Company’s Canadian sales and marketing division, continues to focus on both specialty and primary-care markets.

Early in 2008, Biovail's Board established an independent committee of Directors for the purpose of, among other things, considering strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value. In May 2008, Biovail announced its New Strategic Focus - one thaty targets the development and commercialization of medicines that address unmet medical needs in specialty CNS markets. Biovail intends to invest $600 million in research and development in the period from 2008 to 2012, exploring new chemical entities (NCEs), new indications and other opportunities. To date, Biovail has made significant progress in the implementation of its new business strategy, including in building a specialty CNS pipeline .