Dura Pharmaceuticals

Dura Pharmaceuticals was a San Diego-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on prescription products for respiratory, allergy, infectious, and related pulmonary conditions. The company commercialized marketed products including Ceclor CD and developed inhalation-based drug delivery technologies, most notably the Spiros mechanical dry powder inhaler platform for asthma medicines. Dura grew through product licensing, commercialization, and sales-force buildout rather than as a pure discovery-stage biotech. It was founded in 1981, renamed from Immunetech Pharmaceuticals in 1991, traded publicly on NASDAQ under the symbol DURA, and was acquired by Elan in November 2000 in a transaction valued at about $1.8 billion. The business is no longer an active standalone company.