Skip to content

This Site is Intended for Healthcare Professionals Only

Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Opella becomes standalone company as Sanofi-CD&R deal closes

It is official: Opella is now a standalone company

Opella launches as an independent company to redefine the future of self-care.

Photo credit: gettyimages

Opella has officially become a standalone company, following the completion of Sanofi’s sale of a controlling 50.0% stake to private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R).

Sanofi retains a significant shareholding with a 48.2% stake while Bpifrance holds the remaining 1.8% stake.


Headquartered in France, Opella is the third-largest global player in the global Over-The-Counter (OTC) and Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements (VMS) sector, now valued at €190 billion. Its 100 brands – including Allegra/Allevia, Dulcolax, Buscopan and Cialis Together – are already trusted names in homes around the world.

As an independent company, Opella is set to redefine the future of self-care with a clear mission: “Health in Your Hands.”

“Going independent is not just a milestone. It is our moment,” said Julie Van Ongevalle, President and CEO of Opella.

“I am proud of our talented team of 11,000 who made this happen. With the right partners and a sharp focus, we are set to reshape how people everywhere manage their health – simply, confidently, and on their terms.”

Nick Linton, head of Opella UK, emphasised the company's ambitions to simplify self-care.

“Self-care in the UK is being redefined — fast. The responsibility for health is shifting, and people are stepping up. At Opella UK, we’re not just responding to that change — we’re driving it.”

“Today’s announcement marks our moment of independence, and we’re using it as a launchpad to innovate harder, connect deeper, and move faster.”

“Our mission is clear: to simplify healthcare to put health into people’s hands. We’re here to shake things up — and we’re just getting started.”

David Taylor, former chairman and CEO of Procter & Gamble and current chairman of the Board of Delta and senior advisor to CD&R funds, has been appointed chairman of Opella’s Supervisory Board.

Taylor commented: “What drew me to Opella is a mission with meaning, a company with courage, a talented team, and a business ready to break new ground.”

“Opella is not here to tweak the system – but to reimagine it.”

As it steps into the next chapter with powerful backing, Opella plans to focus on strengthening its trusted brands and deepening its presence in key markets.

“This is more than independence. It is the freedom to act. The power to simplify. And the drive to redefine the future of selfcare,” the company noted.

More For You

fungal test for fatal infections

The test detects the disease within 30 minutes

Getty Images

New fungal test may save people from fatal infections

Key Summary

  • The University of Exeter has developed a prototype test that detects mucormycosis (black fungus) in 30 minutes
  • The test promises timely treatment and could reach hospitals within three years, pending regulatory approval
  • Mucormycosis surged after Covid-19 in India, causing 3,500 deaths in 2021, mainly affecting those with weak immunity

  • The University of Exeter is developing a new test which could detect a fatal fungal infection before patients reach a critical stage.

    Mucormycosis – black fungus disease, is a common yet potentially dangerous disease that rose post the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Keep ReadingShow less
    Inhaled insulin injection for children at mealtime

    The inhaled formula did not have any adverse effects on patients’ lungs, the researchers reported.

    Pic credit: iStock

    Inhaled insulin as good as injection for children at mealtime

    Children with diabetes who inhaled their mealtime doses of insulin did just as well as those who injected insulin under the skin, researchers reported at the American Diabetes Association scientific meeting in Chicago.

    To regulate their blood sugar, patients with type 1 diabetes usually require an injection of a long-acting basal insulin once a day, plus additional injections of rapid-acting insulins at mealtimes.

    Keep ReadingShow less
    PDA calls for action on disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting

    A disabled pharmacy employee at work

    Getty Images

    PDA calls for action on disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting

    Key Summary
    • PDA backs mandatory disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting for large employers
    • Reports and research show ethnic minority locums earn 10% less, with wider pay disparities
    • PDA urges action plans and annual data to address inequality and boost inclusivity

    The Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) has come forward in support of the proposal seeking proper monitoring and reporting of ethnicity and disability pay gaps by employers with more than 250 staff.

    Employers of this nature already monitor and report for gender pay gaps.

    Keep ReadingShow less
    Cancer risk warning on alcohol bottles

    Medical and health organisations want bottles and cans of beer, wine and spirits to carry cancer risk labels.

    iStock

    Health groups want alcohol labels to carry cancer risk warning

    Key Summary

    • The campaigners want “bold and unambiguous” labels stating the link between drinking and cancer
    • They claim that alcohol is proven to increase the risk of breast, bowel, stomach, head, neck, liver and mouth cancer
    • The alcohol industry claims labels may create “unnecessary anxiety”

    Dozens of medical and health organisations have jointly written to prime minister Keir Starmer that bottles and cans of beer, wine and spirits should have labels that state the link between drinking and cancer.

    Keep ReadingShow less
    There is ‘no clear path to the sustainable funding’ for community pharmacy, says Rebecca Smith MP

    Rebecca Smith MP (second from right) and Esi Kumurdzi (third from right) at Tubb Pharmacy

    There is ‘no clear path to the sustainable funding’ for community pharmacy, says Rebecca Smith MP

    Rebecca Smith MP made an impassioned plea to the government to invest in community pharmacy after explaining the vital role her local pharmacy plays supporting residents in two villages.

    Addressing the health and social care select committee on Tuesday (23), Smith, the Conservative MP for South West Devon, said community pharmacy needed ‘sustainable funding’ and reflected on the plight of her local pharmacy.

    Keep ReadingShow less