Overview
ORION B refers to Orion Corporation’s B share. Orion Corporation is a Finnish, globally operating pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets human and veterinary pharmaceuticals as well as active pharmaceutical ingredients. Its pharmaceutical R&D is focused on oncology and pain, and its business is defined by innovative medicines, branded products, generics and consumer health, animal health, and API supply through Fermion.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
The company’s stated purpose is “building well-being.” Orion’s commercial footprint spans Finland, Scandinavia, the rest of Europe, North America and other international markets, supported by production sites in Finland, France and Belgium. The company traces its history to 1917, and in 2024 it reported net sales of EUR 1,542 million and year-end personnel of 3,880, indicating a mid-sized international healthcare business.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13] [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]
Products & services
Orion’s product portfolio is split across Innovative Medicines, Branded Products, Generics and Consumer Health, Animal Health, and Fermion, which represented 34%, 19%, 34%, 8%, and 5% of 2024 net sales, respectively. Its top ten pharmaceutical products together accounted for 49.7% of net sales, indicating that performance is concentrated in a relatively small set of named products.[14][15]
The largest named product is Nubeqa® (darolutamide), a prostate cancer medicine approved in more than 85 countries for non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and in over 80 markets for metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer in combination with chemotherapy; Bayer commercializes it globally, while Orion manufactures and packages it for global markets and has co-promotion rights in Europe. Easyhaler® is Orion’s in-house dry-powder inhaler platform for asthma and COPD, with formulations developed for salbutamol, beclometasone, budesonide, formoterol, salmeterol, and fluticasone, including budesonide-formoterol and salmeterol-fluticasone combinations. In 2024, Nubeqa generated EUR 368.3 million in net sales, Easyhaler EUR 166.4 million, and entacapone products EUR 84.1 million.[16][17][18][15]
Other named products include Stalevo®, Comtess®, Comtan® and other entacapone-containing Parkinson’s disease medicines; the animal sedative products Dexdomitor® (dexmedetomidine), Domitor® (medetomidine), and Domosedan® (detomidine), with Antisedan® (atipamezole) as the reversal agent; Burana® for inflammatory pain; the Divina® series of hormone replacement products for menopausal symptoms; Simdax® for acute decompensated heart failure; Fareston® for breast cancer; and Trexan® for rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. In Generics and Consumer Health, generic prescription medicines account for 75% of division net sales and self-care products 25%. Through Fermion, Orion also provides active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing for Orion and third parties; the unit’s range comprises nearly 30 pharmaceutical ingredients and includes contract manufacturing services for the development and manufacture of new APIs.[19][20][15][21][22] [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]
Geographic presence
Orion’s geographic footprint is centered on Finland. The company is headquartered in Espoo, Finland, and has eight production sites in total: six in Finland, one in France and one in Belgium. It also has two large research centres in Finland, smaller R&D offices in the UK and the US, animal health R&D operations in France and Belgium, and back-office operations in India and China. Orion sells products in more than 100 countries; it has its own sales network in Europe and in six Asia-Pacific countries, while its veterinary-drug sales network covers the Nordic countries, Belgium, France, some Eastern European countries and Vietnam. Orion also has a sales office in Japan.[23][24][25]
By share of net sales, Orion’s main market areas are Finland (15%), Scandinavia (22%), Other Europe (24%), North America (11%) and Rest of the World (28%). Based on that split, Finland, Scandinavia and Other Europe together account for 61% of net sales. Its workforce is also concentrated in Finland: average employment in 2024 was 3,712, of which 2,804 were in Finland, 73 in Scandinavia, 610 in other Europe, 2 in North America and 223 in the Rest of the World.[26][8][27] [23][24][25][26][8][27]
Business segments
Orion reports five business areas as its operating/reportable segments: Innovative Medicines, Branded Products, Generics and Consumer Health, Animal Health, and Fermion.[28] Innovative Medicines covers medicines with patent or other product protection and related royalty and milestone income, and Orion describes it as a growth driver focused particularly on cancer and pain.[29][30] Branded Products consists of products with strong brand value, including key franchises such as Easyhaler®, entacapone products and the Divina® series, and is positioned around respiratory, central nervous system and women’s health in Europe and Asia.[31][32] Generics and Consumer Health includes generic prescription drugs, including biosimilars, and self-care products aimed at affordable medicines and health promotion.[21][33] Animal Health focuses on veterinary drugs and other animal health products for companion animals and livestock.[34][35] Fermion is the API manufacturing unit, supplying Orion’s divisions and external pharmaceutical customers and offering contract manufacturing services.[22][36]
Based on 2024 net sales, the segment mix was approximately Branded Products 34%, Innovative Medicines 34%, Generics and Consumer Health 19%, Animal Health 8%, and Fermion 5%.[37] This indicates that Orion’s revenue base is led by two similarly sized pharmaceutical segments, with smaller contributions from generics/consumer health, animal health, and API manufacturing.[37] [29][30][31][32][21][33][34][35][22][36][37][28]
Company history
Orion was founded in Finland on 21 September 1917 by pharmacists Onni Turpeinen, Wikki Walkama and Eemil Tuurala.[38] In its early decades, the company grew through capital raisings, including a 1929 share issue that helped it avoid bankruptcy and continue expanding.[39] During the Second World War, Orion began penicillin experiments, and in 1943 it produced the first batch of penicillin made in Finland.[40] After the war it broadened its research base, acquiring an estate in Espoo in 1945 for animal research and later expanding to Vihti in 1968.[41]
In the late 1970s, Orion introduced Burana as the first painkiller in Finland containing ibuprofen, which became one of its better-known products.[42] A major corporate restructuring followed in 2006, when the old Orion was demerged into the new Orion Corporation and Oriola-KD Corporation.[43] In the 2010s, Orion expanded its manufacturing footprint by acquiring Nokia’s former plant in Salo in 2012 and inaugurating a pharmaceutical plant there in 2014.[44] [38][39][40][41][42][43][44]
Sources
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