Cerexa Inc.

What Cerexa Inc. does

Cerexa Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company founded in 2005 and headquartered in New York that developed a focused portfolio of anti-infective therapies for the treatment of life-threatening infections. The company raised $50 million in a Series 2 funding round in August 2005, led by Frazier Healthcare Partners and New Leaf Venture Partners with participation from a syndicate of healthcare-specialist venture investors including OrbiMed, Canaan Partners, Domain Associates, A. M. Pappas & Associates, CDIB BioScience Ventures, EGS Healthcare Capital Partners, and Montreux Equity Partners. Cerexa was subsequently acquired by Allergan, and Allergan was in turn acquired by AbbVie in 2020; Cerexa's corporate website (cerexa.com) now redirects to AbbVie's Allergan integration page, indicating it operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary within AbbVie's broader pharmaceutical organization.

The underlying technology and product specifics for Cerexa are not disclosed in available sources; the company is characterized only as producing anti-infective therapies. Cerexa's intellectual property, trademarks, and product names now fall under AbbVie's trademark and licensing control, and the company benefits from AbbVie's global pharmaceutical distribution channels, field sales forces targeting healthcare providers and hospitals, and diversified therapeutic portfolio spanning oncology, immunology, aesthetics, and eye care across 30+ brands and 60+ conditions.

The business model is prescription pharmaceutical product sales through traditional channels — wholesale distributors, pharmacy networks, hospital purchasing systems, and direct-to-provider sales forces — with pricing managed through insurance providers and government healthcare programs. Cerexa's customer base consists of healthcare providers and end patients requiring anti-infective treatments. As a fully integrated subsidiary, Cerexa no longer maintains independent operating metrics; revenue, headcount, and product detail are subsumed within AbbVie's combined organization of approximately 50,000 employees worldwide.

Name

Cerexa Inc.

Website

https://cerexa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Cerexa Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company founded in 2005 that develops anti-infective therapies for life-threatening infections; it was acquired by Allergan and now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary within AbbVie following AbbVie's 2020 acquisition of Allergan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Pharmaceutical product sales: AbbVie generates revenue through the sale of prescription pharmaceutical products across multiple therapeutic areas including oncology, immunology, aesthetics, and eye care. The company markets over 30 brands treating 60+ conditions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Cerexa Inc. was a biopharmaceutical company that developed and produced a portfolio of anti-infective therapies intended for the treatment of life-threatening infections. Following its acquisition by Allergan and Allergan's subsequent acquisition by AbbVie in 2020, Cerexa's operations have been integrated into AbbVie's broader pharmaceutical portfolio spanning oncology, immunology, aesthetics, and eye care.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AllergancoreOthersAllergan was acquired by AbbVie in 2020. The acquisition brought together AbbVi's strong immunology and oncology portfolio with Allergan's aesthetics and eye care businesses. Cerexa Inc. was part of the Allergan organization prior to this acquisition.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Paratek Pharmaceuticals: Specialty biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing antibiotics (Nuzyra/omadacycline) for serious community-acquired infections. Therapeutic and channel overlap with Cerexa's anti-infective franchise targeting life-threatening infections.

Broad incumbents

• Pfizer: One of the largest global pharmaceutical companies with a substantial anti-infectives franchise (historically including linezolid/Zyvox and other hospital anti-infectives). Broad incumbent operating in the same therapeutic and channel space as Cerexa.
• Merck & Co. Global pharmaceutical major with an established anti-infectives portfolio (including Cubicin/daptomycin and Invanz/ertapenem). Operates in the same serious-anti-infective therapeutic category as Cerexa assets within an otherwise much broader pharma franchise.
• AbbVie: Current parent of Cerexa following AbbVie's 2020 acquisition of Allergan. AbbVie is the broadest incumbent in this peer set, with a portfolio spanning oncology, immunology, aesthetics, and eye care, and commercial infrastructure that Cerexa assets are now embedded within.
• Allergan: Cerexa's direct former parent before Allergan itself was absorbed into AbbVie in 2020. Allergan historically diversified across aesthetics, eye care, CNS, and anti-infectives, making it the most direct historical sibling to Cerexa.

Direct peers

• Forest Laboratories: Acquired Cerexa in 2007 and was itself later acquired by Actavis (which rebranded as Allergan). At the time of acquisition Forest Labs was a mid-size specialty pharmaceutical company operating in similar therapeutic channels and target customer base (US specialty physicians and hospitals).
• Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals: Pure-play antibiotics developer (eravacycline/Xerava), acquired by La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company. Direct therapeutic and competitive overlap with Cerexa's anti-infective portfolio targeting serious infections.
• Melinta Therapeutics: Specialty anti-infective pharmaceutical company focused exclusively on antibiotics for serious and life-threatening infections. Highly comparable to Cerexa in therapeutic focus (anti-infectives for serious infections) and target market (hospital/specialty channel).
• Nabriva Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing antibiotics to treat serious infections, including community-acquired pneumonia. Similar therapeutic focus (hospital anti-infectives) and similar company stage profile to Cerexa at acquisition.
• Achaogen: Late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on antibiotics for multi-drug resistant infections (plazomicin/Zemdri). Closely comparable to Cerexa in therapeutic scope (serious hospital anti-infectives) and small-cap public profile before its 2019 bankruptcy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cerexa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors9 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cerexa Inc.