Chiron Corporation

Chiron Corporation
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryBiotechnology
Founded1981
DefunctApril 20, 2006; 18 years ago (2006-04-20)
Fate
  • Acquired by Novartis in 2006.
  • In 2014, its assets related to blood testing and vaccines subsequently sold to Grifols and GlaxoSmithKline, respectively.
HeadquartersEmeryville, California, USA
ProductsBiopharmaceuticals,
vaccines,
blood testing
RevenueIncrease $1.921 billion (2005)
Number of employees
5,400 (2005)
Websitewww.chiron.com

Chiron Corporation (/ˈkaɪrɒn/ KY-ron)[1] was an American multinational biotechnology firm founded in 1981, based in Emeryville, California, that was acquired by Novartis on April 20, 2006. It had offices and facilities in eighteen countries on five continents. Chiron's business and research was in three main areas: biopharmaceuticals, vaccines, and blood testing. Chiron's vaccines and blood testing units were combined to form Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, while Chiron BioPharmaceuticals was integrated into Novartis Pharmaceuticals. In 2014, Novartis completed the sale of its blood transfusion diagnostics unit to Grifols and announced agreements for the sale of its vaccines unit to GlaxoSmithKline.[2]

  1. ^ Lawrence M. Fisher (October 13, 1986). "Biotechnology Spotlight Now Shines On Chiron". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "GSK Pharma completes acquisition of Novartis Healthcare's vaccines business". Pharmaceutical Technology. Retrieved July 10, 2017.