Valeant Pharmaceuticals rebrands to Bausch Health: 7 notes

Alia Paavola -

In a move to distance itself from past controversies involving drug price increases, Valeant Pharmaceuticals will change its name to Bausch Health Cos., according to The Wall Street Journal.

Here are seven things to know.

1. The name change will take effect in July 2018, and will come alongside other rebranding efforts, such as a new logo and a new ticker on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges.

2. "We think this name captures who we really are becoming," Valeant CEO Joseph Papa told the WSJ. "We are much more than a pharmaceutical company."

3. Valeant has come under fire in recent years over its accounting and business practices, particularly its method of buying drugs and then starply raising their price.

4. As criticism from investors, health insurers and lawmakers mounted against Valeant, the drugmaker began an overhaul of management to reinvent the company. 

5. Mr. Papa has led the overhaul effort and has replaced numerous executives since taking the helm two years ago. He now oversees a largely new board of directors. In addition, he hired a comptroller who installed new financial reporting processes and set standards for drug price hikes.

6. Even with the name change, Valeant faces financial challenges, including a $25 billion debt burden.

7. The Bausch Health name comes from Valeant's best performing optical products business, Bausch + Lomb. The name change aims to encapsulate how Valeant offers a number of non-drug products.

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