Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd

Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, commonly known as Actelion, is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Allschwil, near Basel, Switzerland. Founded in December 1997, Actelion became a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson in June 2017, following an acquisition totaling approximately $30 billion in cash. Prior to the acquisition, in 2016, Actelion reported 2,624 employees and CHF 2.412 billion in revenue.

The company focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative drugs for rare and orphan diseases, particularly specializing in conditions related to the endothelium. Its major product lines include treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), such as Tracleer (bosentan), Opsumit (macitentan), and Uptravi (selexipag). Actelion also markets Zavesca for Type 1 Gaucher disease and Valchlor for a rare form of blood cancer.

Actelion's patent litigation posture indicates it operates as a company defending its intellectual property. As per available data, Actelion has been involved in one tracked case, appearing solely as a defendant. This case, Unified Patents Inc. v. Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, is before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the USPTO, initiated in July 2025.

A significant event in the company's history was its acquisition by Johnson & Johnson. As part of this transaction, Actelion's drug discovery operations and early-stage clinical development assets were spun off into a new, independent biopharmaceutical company, Idorsia Ltd, which began trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange in June 2017.