Medeva

Medeva was a prominent British pharmaceutical company that specialized in the development and manufacture of vaccines and branded specialty pharmaceuticals. Founded in 1990, the company grew rapidly through a series of strategic acquisitions, including Evans Medical and the pharmaceutical division of Pennwalt. Its product portfolio was headlined by the influenza vaccine Fluvirin and the ADHD treatment Equasym (methylphenidate). Medeva also advanced a late-stage pipeline featuring Hepagene, a third-generation hepatitis B vaccine. In early 2000, the company was acquired by Celltech Group PLC for approximately £563 million, creating one of Europe's largest biotechnology firms at the time. The entity was eventually integrated into UCB following UCB's acquisition of Celltech in 2004.