Call it Allergan, call it a 'growth pharma.' Just don't call it Big Pharma

Actavis got more than a new name last week when it officially adopted the moniker of its latest takeover target. In addition to its new title--Allergan ($AGN)--the company is sporting a new logo and website--all of which, it believes, reflect its new identity as a "growth pharma."

The Dublin drugmaker has launched a rebranding campaign it says will help shift the company's facilities and commercial operations to the new name--a moniker that emphasizes Allergan's newfound focus on branded drugs, it said in a recent statement.

For starters, gone is the Actavis logo with green text and an angular squiggle. Now, navy-blue italicized type spells out Allergan's name, and it's adorned with a group of green, blue and navy circles. True to the philosophy-speak that goes with new logos, the circles are said to "personify movement" and signify "purposeful paths of change and growth" and "growing spheres of influence and ideas."

Allergan's video features employees discussing what it means to be "bold"

Allergan also has a sleek website redesign, complete with a video from CEO Brent Saunders titled "A bold new Allergan." In it, laughing, smiling employees discuss what "bold" means to them--creative, daring, confident, different--and tout Allergan's ability to keep a "small company mindset and way of working together."

"We can work in one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world without it being Big Pharma," one staffer proclaims.

Therein lies the root of Allergan's new identity. Since snatching Allergan from hostile suitor Valeant ($VRX) last November, the company has worked hard to depict itself as a trailblazer--a drugmaker that rivals Big Pharma in size but puts its growth margins to shame. And in order to do that, it's going to need a big contribution from its branded sales side--much of which will come from Allergan products like blockbuster Botox.

And it's so far, so good for the new-look company in that department. In Q1, branded sales increased to $1.7 billion from $572 million year-over-year, with the old Allergan's branded business chipping in $258 million of that total. The company plans to keep that going, doubling its branded drug revenue for 2015 and working toward its goal of 10% compound annual growth going forward.

- read the release
- watch the video

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