alk b industry pharmaceuticals founded 1923 copenhagen 1 headquarters h rsholm denmark key people steen riisgaard chairman jens bager ceo products grazax slitoneultra alutard sq jext avanz revenue dkk 2 433 million 2014 2 number of employees 1 844 2014 2 website www.alk.net alk abell nasdaq copenhagen alk b also commonly known as alk is a denmark based pharmaceutical company which specializes in the development and manufacture of allergy immunotherapy ait products for the prevention and treatment of allergy . it is the world s largest maker of allergy immunotherapy products also known as allergy vaccines 3 with 76 % of its revenue coming from sales in europe . 2 contents 1 history 2 corporate information 3 operations 4 products 5 partnerships and collaborations 6 sponsorships 7 timeline 8 research and development 9 notes and references 10 external links history edit alk abello dates back to 1923 1 when denmark s first allergen extracts were produced at the pharmacy of the copenhagen university hospital . 4 the company was established as allergologisk laboratorium k benhavn by dr. barfod in 1928 . the company has since focused on mapping the mechanisms of allergic impact on the immune system in order to develop new and improved allergy therapies . the research focuses on prevention treatment and management of allergies especially hay fever and asthma . in 1978 alk released the first standardized line of products for the treatment of allergies . in the 1990s alk was the first company to launch sublingual immunotherapy drops allergy immunotherapy administered as droplets under the tongue . in recent years alk s research and development strategy has been focused on introducing a range of sublingual immunotherapy tablets slit tablets . the first grazax was launched in 2006 becoming the first slit tablets to be proven effective in the treatment of hay fever or more specifically showing a disease modifying effect on grass pollen induced allergic rhinoconjunctivitis . 5 a slit tablet for ragweed allergy was launched in 2014 . the company is part owned by the lundbeck foundation however is also a publicly traded entity . corporate information edit alk s stock is listed on the nasdaq omx copenhagen stock exchange . as of 12 march 2015 the current members of alk s board of directors are 6 steen riisgaard chairman of the board chairman of the remuneration committee and chairman of the nomination committee jacob kastrup employee elected lars holmqvist member of the remuneration committee andreas slyngborg holst employee elected anders gersel pedersen chairman of the scientific committee member of the remuneration committee jakob riis chairman of the audit committee lene skole member of the audit committee katja barnkob thalund employee elected per valstorp member of the audit committee as of 13 february 2015 the members of alk s board of management are 7 jens bager president and chief executive officer henrik jacobi executive vice president research and development s ren niegel executive vice president commercial operations flemming pedersen chief financial officer and executive vice president finance information technology investor relations and business development helle skov executive vice president product supply operations edit alk employs 1 844 people worldwide . 2 the company s global headquarters and its main research and development center are on the scion dtu science and technology park in h rsholm denmark in the capital region of denmark . the company has subsidiaries in austria canada denmark which also serves as the headquarters for the nordic region france germany italy the netherlands poland slovakia spain switzerland turkey the united kingdom and the united states as well as sales offices in china the czech republic finland norway and sweden . in several other countries including australia brazil greece israel malaysia mexico new zealand portugal south africa thailand and across much of central and southern europe alk products are available via distributors . 2 other alk facilities include european production facilities in h rsholm denmark in vendeuil and varennes en argonne france in madrid spain and lelystad in the netherlands . north american production facilities in port washington new york in post falls idaho in spring mills pennsylvania and in mississauga ontario . products edit allergy immunotherapy products account for 91 % of alk s revenues 2 and comprise three types of product sublingual immunotherapy tablets slit tablets . the first of these grazax for grass pollen allergy was launched in europe in 2006 . 1 on april 14 2014 merck & co alk s north american partner announced approval by the u.s. food and drug administration fda of the product in the u.s. where it is sold under the name grastek . 8 on april 17 2014 merck announced a further approval for their ragweed slit tablet also licensed from alk and marketed under the name ragwitek . 9 grastek and ragwitek have also been launched by merck in canada . 10 sublingual immunotherapy drops slit drops . a droplet based allergy vaccine marketed under various brand names including slitoneultra and covering approximately 40 different allergens and combinations of allergens including pollens molds mites and pets . 11 subcutaneous immunotherapy scit . an injection based allergy vaccine marketed under various brand names including avanz and covering the most common allergens such as pollens molds mites pets bees and wasps . 12 the aforementioned allergy immunotherapy products are purified from natural allergen sources harvested in the us branch of alk s raw materials production facility then combined with excipients during formulation . 13 other alk products include an emergency adrenaline autoinjector for patients who experience anaphylaxis 14 marketed under the brand name jext 15 allergy diagnostic kits for example skin prick tests marketed under various brand names including soluprick sq 16 and bulk allergen extracts mostly sold in the usa to allergy specialists for use in their practices . 17 partnerships and collaborations edit alk has a strategic alliance with merck & co to develop and commercialize alk s slit tablet products in the united states canada and mexico . the alliance grants merck exclusive rights to develop market and distribute the tablets for grass pollen allergy house dust mite allergy and ragweed allergy in those markets . 18 19 grass slit tablets have been approved and launched in the us and canada under the trade name grastek 8 9 10 20 while ragweed slit tablets have been approved and launched in the us and canada under the trade name ragwitek . 9 10 in june 2016 alk and merck & co reported that the partnership will end by the end of 2016 . the reason of the termination of the strategic alliance goes back to the missing market success of the tablet program in the usa . due to the ending of the strategic alliance alk won t receive further 290 million euro in milestone payments which are needed for the clinical development program of the tablet immunotherapy . all rights to alk s slit tablets in north america to revert to alk from msd . retrieved 2016 07 31 . the company also has an alliance with torii pharmaceutical co. ltd to develop and commercialize alk s house dust mite allergy immunotherapy products for asthma and allergic rhinitis in japan . the agreement also covers injection based immunotherapy product alutard and diagnostic products for house dust mite allergy . in addition it establishes a research and development collaboration to develop a slit tablet product for japanese cedar pollen allergy . 18 21 in china alk has a collaboration with eddingpharm which covers alk s diagnostic skin prick test soluprick sq for house dust mite allergy and the subcutaneous immunotherapy scit product alutard sq also for house dust mite allergy . under the agreement eddingpharm handles sales and distribution while alk provides medical and scientific expertise . announced in april 2014 the collaboration runs for an initial seven years provided certain performance targets are met . 22 alk also has a collaboration with abbott covering russia and selected emerging markets under which abbott gains rights to distribute and commercialize alk s slit tablets for grass ragweed tree and house dust mite allergies 23 and a collaboration with biocsl which grants it exclusive rights to promote and sell alk s slit tablets against house dust mite and grass pollen allergy and the jext adrenaline auto injector . 24 sponsorships edit alk is one of the founder sponsors of the european academy of allergy and clinical immunology eaaci . 25 it also sponsors and organizes an invitation only biennial scientific symposium the symposium on specific allergy sosa . 26 since 2000 the company has sponsored the wao henning l wenstein research award 27 which is awarded to a young scientist who has shown excellence within the field of allergy . 28 since 2005 the award has been made every two years . the 2013 winner received 10 000 or an educational grant of corresponding value and a travel grant to attend the 2013 european academy of allergy and clinical immunology eaaci world allergy organization wao congress in milan italy . timeline edit 1923 doctor kaj baag e and pharmacist poul barfod produce denmark s first pharmaceutically manufactured allergen extract at copenhagen university hospital rigshospitalet 1 1949 production of allergy vaccines and diagnostics is centered at an independent unit called allergologisk laboratorium allergology laboratory 1 1972 the technique to accurately identify the proteins that provoke allergies in individual patients is developed 1 1976 the first standardized process for allergen extracts das 76 is developed 1 1978 the world s first standardized allergy immunotherapy product under the alutard sq brand sq is short for standardized quality is launched 1 1984 alk begins a period of global expansion by establishing a presence in several new markets and through strategic acquisitions 1 1990 the world s first product for sublingual immunotherapy drops slit drops droplets administered under the tongue is launched 1 1990 the pat preventative allergy treatment study is initiated in collaboration with leading european allergy specialists . the study finds that allergy immunotherapy decreases the risk of the development of asthma in children with allergic rhinitis 1 1992 alk acquires alergia e immunologia abello s.a. abello the spanish company based in madrid with additional locations in italy and germany its largest competitor at the time . abello pharmaceuticals was founded in 1925 by pharmacist juan abello pascual and specialized in manufacturing oxygen and alkaline based therapeutics as well as synthetic hormones among other processes and products . 2000 acquires center laboratories one of the leading suppliers of allergenic extracts in the u.s. 2006 grazax the world s first registered sublingual immunotherapy tablet slit tablet is launched 1 2007 an agreement is signed with schering plough which merged with merck & co. in november 2009 to develop register and commercialize in north america a portfolio of slit tablet treatments for grass ragweed and house dust mite allergy 1 2009 the disease modifying effect of grazax is recognized by regulatory authorities in europe 29 2009 the grazax asthma prevention gap trial investigating the potential of grazax in preventing the development of asthma in children and adolescents is initiated . results are expected in 2015 30 2011 jext a new alk developed adrenaline auto injector for the treatment of acute anaphylaxis is launched 31 2011 an agreement with torii pharmaceutical co. ltd. to develop register and commercialize a number of slit tablet products in japan is signed . the agreement also covers selected existing alk products and diagnostics against house dust mite allergy . it also covers a research and development contract to develop a sublingual immunotherapy tablet against japanese cedar pollen allergy . 1 2013 alk s partner merck files applications to market grass and ragweed slit tablets in the us . 32 33 2014 alk signs collaboration agreements with eddingpharm for china and abbott for russia and selected emerging markets . 22 23 2015 a collaboration with biocsl adds australia and new zealand to alk s global footprint . 24 research and development edit since launching the