Orexo was founded in 1995 by Thomas Lundqvist, a pharmacist, Anders Pettersson, physician and clinical pharmacologist; and Christer Nyström, pharmacist and Professor of Galenic Pharmacy at Uppsala University, 
Sweden. By combining knowledge of various diseases, pharmaceutical formulations and pharmaceutical documentation, they identified a niche in drug delivery – in other words, getting the active substance in a drug to work in the optimal manner.
The company’s first product, Diabact UBT – a breath test for diagnosing the stomach ulcer bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, was registered in 2000.
The name Orexo
In 2003 the company adopted the name Orexo, which derives from Greek and is the future form of the verb "orégo" - "to attain, to extend." Orexo also means appetite. New shareholders contributed financing, thereby raising the level of activity in the company. New development projects were started and a new company management appointed to lead the company into the next phase. In 2005, Orexo was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Agreements with business partners were concluded and the development portfolio included several potential drug candidates.
Acquisition of Biolipox
In November 2007, Orexo acquired Biolipox, a research-intensive drug company that develops new drugs for inflammatory diseases such as asthma and COPD (smoker’s disease). The acquisition involved not only a step up in terms of size but also that Orexo’s development portfolio was supplemented with a number of highly attractive pharmaceuticals based on Biolipox’ cutting-edge expertise in arachidonic acid research. This acquisition entailed a major step in Orexo becoming a fully-fledged pharmaceutical company.
Launch of Abstral
Orexo’s second proprietary drug was approved for market sales in 2008. Approval involved Abstral, designed for the treatment of breakthrough cancer pain. The product was launched in Sweden in August 2008 via the joint-venture company ProStrakan AB. In early 2009, Orexo’s partner, ProStrakan, launched Abstral in the UK and Germany and later in France.
Launch of Edluar
In March 2009, the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approved Edluar™ for the short-term treatment of insomnia. Orexo’s partner Meda launched the product on the US market during August 2009.