In a way, Endo Pharmaceuticals represents the evolution of 20th century business. It began in 1920 as a family-owned drug company in Manhattan, the great business adventure of two brothers from Long Island. In 1969, it was acquired by the DuPont Co., but reemerged in 1994 as a small branch of the DuPont Merck Pharmaceuticals collaboration. In 1997, DuPont Merck sold it to three DuPont Merck executives, and so it stands alone once more: Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., makers of pain-management drugs such as Percocet. Such major changes can play havoc with a company's internal systems, changing them radically from one year to the next. This was a major challenge for Endo, which is now headquartered in Chadds Ford, Pa.
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