Bausch Health Companies Inc. is an American Canadian-domiciled multinational specialty pharmaceutical company based in Laval, Canada. It develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and branded generic drugs, primarily for skin diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, eye health, and neurology. Bausch Health owns Bausch & Lomb, a supplier of eye health products.
The company was founded in California, in 1959, as ICN Pharmaceuticals. Under the leadership of J. Michael Pearson, Valeant adopted a strategy of buying up other pharmaceutical companies which manufactured effective medications for a variety of medical problems and then increasing the price of those medications. As a result, the company grew rapidly and in 2015 was the most valuable company in Canada. Its largest acquisitions were Bausch & Lomb, in 2013, and Salix Pharmaceuticals, in 2015. Valeant also tried to acquire Actavis and Cephalon. An attempted merge with Allergan, in 2014, failed and resulted in the company being sued for insider trading prior to their bid.
In 2015, Valeant was involved in a number of controversies surrounding drug price hikes and the use of a specialty pharmacy for the distribution of its drugs, which led to an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, causing its stock price to plummet more than 90 percent from its peak, while its debt surpassed $30 billion.