Altana Pharma

Altana Pharma was the pharmaceutical division of the German specialty chemicals group Altana AG, headquartered in Konstanz. The company achieved significant global success with the development of the proton pump inhibitor pantoprazole, marketed under brand names such as Protonix and Pantoloc. Beyond gastroenterology, Altana Pharma maintained a strong focus on respiratory medicine, developing the inhaled corticosteroid ciclesonide and the PDE4 inhibitor roflumilast. In late 2006, Altana AG sold the pharmaceutical division to the Danish company Nycomed for approximately €4.5 billion to focus on its specialty chemicals business. The assets were later integrated into Takeda Pharmaceutical Company following its acquisition of Nycomed in 2011.