1781 - Chobei Takeda I (32) started business selling traditional Japanese, Chinese medicines in Doshomachi, Osaka, center of medicine trade in Japan; bought medicines from wholesalers, divided them into smaller batches, sold them to local medicine merchants, doctors; beginning of present-day Takeda Chemical Industries, Ltd.; 1871 - Chobei Takeda IV formed cooperative union for purchasing Western medicines (quinine, anti-malaria drug, and phenol, an anti-cholera drug), began transactions with foreign trading companies; 1895, - became pharmaceutical manufacturer (bismuth subgallate, antidiarrheal agent, and quinine hydrochloride); 1925 - Incorporated as Chobei Takeda & Co., Ltd.; 1943 - name changed to Takeda Pharmaceutical Industries Limited; 1961 - English name changed to Takeda Chemical Industries, Ltd.

April 30, 1796 - Samuel Lee, Jr. of Connecticut, received a patent for "Composition of Billious Pills"; first U.S. patent for pill; marketed as "Lee's Windham Pills" (composed of gamboge, aloes, soap, nitrate of potassa).

1842 - Thomas Beecham, farm worker from Oxfordshire,  launched Beecham's Pills laxative business in England; 1945 - Beecham Group Ltd established (replaced Beecham Pills Ltd,  Beecham Estates Ltd; incorporated Beecham Research Laboratories; 1989 -SmithKline Beckman merged with The Beecham Group plc, formed SmithKline Beecham.

1849 - Cousins Charles Pfizer (chemist), Charles Erhart (confectioner), young entrepreneurs from Germany, borrowed $2,500 from Charles Pfizer's father, bought small brick building on Bartlett Street in Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, NY, formed Charles Pfizer & Co.as small chemical manufacturer; first product - santonin, used to treat intestinal worms (terrible taste); blended santonin with almond-toffee flavoring and shaped it into a candy cone - immediate success; 1857 - opened office in downtown Manhattan on Beekman Street; 1860 - manufactured borax, boric acid, first important producer in  United States; 1880 - began producing citric acid (became America's leading producer, company's biggest product in the next century); 1900 - incorporated; 1906 - sales of about $3.4 million, nearly 200 employees; 2006 - sales of $48.4 billion

1851 - Ernst Schering, a pharmacist, opened the "Green Pharmacy" in the north of Berlin; 1928 - incorporated in New York City; 1941 - President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered Schering AG's U.S. assets seized; 1952 - acquired by syndicate headed by Merrill Lynch, went public; 1971 - merged with Plough Inc., worldwide manufacturer of consumer products; formed Schering Plough (antibiotics, antihistamines, pharmaceuticals with household consumer products such as Coppertone, Di-Gel, Maybelline cosmetics); 1979 - acquired Scholl, Inc.

1856 - William R. Warner launched drug store in Philadelphia, PA; invented a tablet-coating process to encase harsh-tasting medicines in sugar shells. This innovation earned Warner a place in the Smithsonian Institution; 1886 - gave up his retail shop; focused solely on drug manufacturing under the name William R. Warner & Co.; 1879 - Dr Joseph Lawrence and Jordan Wheat Lambert formulated amber-colored Listerine as a disinfectant for surgical procedures (named after English physician Sir Joseph Lister who had performed the first ever antiseptic surgery in 1865); 1884 - Jordan Wheat Lambert launched Lambert Pharmacal Company in St. Louis to manufacture and market Listerine to the medical community; 1914 - became one of first prescription products available over the counter, founded mouthwash category; 1908 - Pfeiffer Chemical bought William R. Warner, kept Warner name, expanded company through acquisition; March 31, 1955 - pharmaceuticals marketer Warner-Hudnut merged with Lambert Pharmacal Co., created  Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical Company.

1860 - John and Frank Wyeth founded John Wyeth & Brother, retail drugstore with small research lab, in Philadelphia, PA; 1862 - published first catalog of drugs for wholesale distribution; 1907 - Stuart Wyeth (John's son) became president; 1929 - controlling interest in company bequeathed to Harvard University; 1931 - acquired by American Home products for $2.9 million.

August 1, 1863 - Dye salesman Friedrich Bayer, master dyer Johann Friedrich Weskott established Friedr. Bayer et comp., factory in Barmen, Germany to manufacture, produce synthetic dyestuffs from coal-tar derivatives; July 1, 1881 - descendants of Bayer and Weskott established joint stock company Farbenfabriken vorm. Friedr. Bayer & Co.; 1888 - pharmaceutical department established; 1894 - Felix Hoffmann joined company as chemist in chemical laboratory; August 10, 1897 - created acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) in  chemically pure, stable form by acetylating salicylic acid with acetic acid; pain-relieving, fever-lowering, anti-inflammatory substance; 1899 - launched under trade name Aspirin, initially as powder supplied in glass bottles.

1866 - Albert Hartley Robins founded apothecary shop in Richmond, VA; 1896 - Claiborne Robins (son) organized A, H. Robins Company to package, sell remedy for stomach disorders to doctors; 1933 - E. Claiborne Robins (grandson) took over; 1963 - went public; June 12, 1970 - acquired rights to Dalkon Shield (IUD) from Dalkon Corporation for $750,000 plus 10% of net sales; June 1974 - about 2.8 million Dalkon Shields sold; June 28, 1974 - voluntarily halted further distribution at request of US Food and Drug Administration because of reported association with pregnancy-related complications; September 1980 - device recalled; company advised physicians to remove Dalkon Shield from asymptomatic women because of risk of pelvic inflammatory disease; August 21, 1985 - filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; 1989 - acquired by American Home Products Company.

1871 - Leopold Gerstle founded Gerstle Medicine Co. in Union, TN; manufactured St. Joseph's Aspirin; 1920 - acquired by Plough Inc.; November 22, 1927 - Plough Inc. registered "St. Joseph's Pure Aspirin" trademark first used April 22, 1926 (medicinal preparation-namely aspirin); 1971 - merged with Schering Corporation; 2000 - acquired by McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals, Division of McNeil-PPC, Inc. (Johnson & Johnson).

1873 - Alexander Clavel sold dye factory to new company, Bindschedler & Busch; 1884 - reorganized as joint-stock company with name "Gesellschaft für Chemische Industrie Basel" (Company for Chemical Industry Basel); 1945 - abbreviation, "Ciba", so widespread, adopted as company's name.

May 10, 1876 - Colonel Eli Lilly (38), pharmaceutical chemist, opened for business at 15 W. Pearl St., downtown Indianapolis, IN; staff of three: drug compounder, bottler and finisher, Josiah K. Lilly, Sr. (14-year-old son); 1886 - hired young chemist to function as full-time scientist, one of first companies to initiate bona fide pharmaceutical research program; 1923 - introduced Iletin, world's first commercially available insulin product; 2006 - sales of $15.6 billion; average cost to discover and develop a new drug - $800 million to $1.2 billion; average length of time from discovery to patient - 10 to 15 years; 2007 - approximately 41,350 employees worldwide (about 8,000 engaged in research and development), clinical research conducted in more than 50 countries, research and development facilities located in 9 countries, manufacturing plants located in 13 countries, products marketed in 143 countries;

1880 - Two young Americans, Silas Mainville Burroughs and Henry Solomon Wellcome, established a pharmaceutical company, Burroughs Wellcome & Co. in London, UK, to promote new form of compressed pill; 1895 - Burroughs died, the company flourished under Wellcome's leadership; 1936 - Wellcome Trust established, at his death, for medical research; 1995 - merged with Glaxo, formed Glaxo Wellcome.

1880 - Dr. John Samuel Carter (Carter's Little Liver Pills), Brent Good established Carter Medicine Company; 1929 - Harry Hoyt, Sr. (son-in-law of Good's son's brother-in-law) became managing director; acquired controlling interest; 1935 - introduced Arrid antiperspirant; October 15, 1935 - Feminine Products, Inc. registered "Arrid" trademark first used May 23, 1935 (deodorant cream); company sales exceeded $1 million; 1937 - renamed Carter Products, Inc.; 1955 - introduced Miltown tranquilizer (developed by Dr. Frank M. Berger of company's Wallace Laboratories division); May 3, 1955 - registered "Miltown" trademark first used June 19, 1954 (medication for use as a muscular relaxant and hypnotic); became best-selling drug ever marketed in U. S.; 1957 - went public; November 3, 1959 - registered "Carter's Pills" trademark first used [in another form] in 1891 (laxative); Federal Trade Commission ruled company could not use 'liver' in pill advertising; 1965 - name changed to Carter-Wallace, Inc. (reflected contribution of Wallace Laboratory division); 1970 - sales exceeded $125 million (toiletries, proprietary drugs, prescription drugs); 1985 - acquired Youngs Drug Products Corporation (maker of Trojan-brand condoms); 1991 - acquired Dramamine from Procter & Gamble (sales of $13 million); August 1993 - introduced Felbatol (for control of epileptic seizures); January 1994 - first Felbatol-related death reported; December 1995 - class action lawsuit filed against company; October 1996 -  Marvin Davis bid $835 million for company; blocked; March 1997 - introduced ASTELIN, antihistamine for treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis; September 1999 - introduced Trojan Supra condom (first polyurethane condom); September 28, 2001 - Wallace Laboratories (pharmaceutical unit), Wampole Laboratories (diagnostics unit), rights to Carter-Wallace name acquired by MedPointe Capital Partners, The Carlyle Group, The Cypress Group for approximately $408 million; consumer products business aquired for approximately $739 million by Armkel (partnership of consumer goods company Church & Dwight, private equity group Kelso & Company.

1884 - Dr. Franklin Miles, specialist in treatment of eye and ear disorders, with interest in connection of nervous system to patient overall health, founded Dr. Miles Medical Company in Elkhart, IN; home remedies (Restorative Nervine) became  base of growing product line; 1935 - name changed to Miles Laboratories; 1979 - acquired by Bayer AG for $253 million (most expensive acquisition by foreign chemical,  pharmaceutical company ever made in U. S.)

October 14, 1884 - William E. Upjohn, of Hastings, MI, received a patent for a "Process for Making Pills"; machine produced "friable" pills, (easily crumble and dissolve); 1886 - with brothers (Henry, Frederick Lawrence, James Townley) founded Upjohn Pill and Granule Company in Kalamazoo, MI; 1902 - name changed to The Upjohn Company; 1909 - W.E. Upjohn bought out remaining brothers, took sole control; May 1930 - Dr. Lawrence N. Upjohn (nephew) became President of company; 1953 - Everett G. Upjohn (Lawrence's son) became President, Chairman; 1959 - listed on NYSE; 1985 - sales of $2 billion; November 1995 - merged with Pharmacia AB of Sweden; renamed Pharmacia & Upjohn, Inc., world’s ninth largest pharmaceutical firm (more than 30,000 employees, sales of  $7 billion, annual research budget of more than $1 billion); April 2000 - merged with Monsanto and Searle, renamed Pharmacia Corp.; April 16, 2003 - acquired by Pfizer.

1886 - Robert Wood Johnson, James Wood Johnson and Edward Mead Johnson began operations in New Brunswick, NJ in surgical dressings industry; 14 employees on fourth floor of former wallpaper factory; October 28, 1887 - Johnson & Johnson incorporated.

1886 - Hervey Parke, George Davis founded Parke-Davis in Detroit, MI; pioneered standardization of medications; built first modern pharmaceutical laboratory; developed first organized, systematic method of clinically testing new drugs; 1976 - United States Government approved acquisition by Warner-Lambert; 2000 - acquired by Pfizer.

1886 - Dr. Alfred Kern and Edouard Sandoz established Kern & Sandoz, chemical company, in Basel, Switzerland; 1895 - produced first pharmaceutical substance, antipyrine, fever-controlling-agent; partnership reorganized as joint-stock company "Chemische Fabrik vormals Sandoz".

December 13, 1887 - William McLaren Bristol and John Ripley Myers officially incorporated, invested $5,000 into a failing drug manufacturing, Clinton Pharmaceutical Company (Clinton, NY); Bristol is president, John Myers is vice president; May 1898 - company renamed Bristol, Myers Company (hyphen replaced the comma after Myers’s death in 1899, when the company became a corporation); 1900 - Bristol-Myers turns profitable; first nationally recognized product is laxative mineral salt.

1888 - Gideon D. Searle, young druggist, founded G .D. Searle & Company in Omaha, NE; April 10, 1908 - incorporated in Chicago; 1934 - laxative Metamucil is introduced; 1949 - introduced Dramamine, first motion sickness treatment; 1951 - Enovid, first contraceptive of its kind to reach the market; 1965 - discovered aspartame, artificial sweetener; 1973 - merged with Will Ross (included optical retailing unit, Vision Centers [(later Pearle Vision Centers[; 1977 - Donald H. Rumsfield, former U.S. secretary of defense, named president and CEO (first outsider to lead company); July 1981 - FDA approved aspartame as table top sweetener and food additive in a number of items; 1985 - Pearle Vision Centers divested; acquired by Monsanto Company for $2.7 billion.

1888 - Isaac E. Emerson, a Baltimore pharmacist, created a headache remedy, granular effervescent salt, named "Bromo-Seltzer"; became so successful that he abandoned his retail business to devote his time to the manufacture of his product; 1891 - incorporated Emerson Drug Company in Maryland; 1956 - merged with Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical Company.

1888 - Dr. Wallace C. Abbott, practicing physician, began manufacturing dosimetric granules in an apartment in Chicago; one of founders of modern pharmacy; 1894 - acquired, became editor of The Alkaloidal Clinic; 1900 - officially incorporated Abbott Alkaloidal Company; 1906 - established company’s sales force to reach more physicians; 1910 - established first European agency in London, branches in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto India; 1915 - name changed to Abbott Laboratories to reflect commitment to new areas of research, beyond alkaloids; 1946 - first pharmaceutical company to have special laboratory for radioactive pharmaceuticals, lead to creation of what will become world’s leading immunodiagnostics business; 1959 - introduced new logo (featured a stylized "a" symbol still in use today).

May 1, 1889 - Bayer introduced aspirin in powder form (Germany).

October 1, 1896 - Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche founded F. Hoffmann-La Roche & Co as successor company to Hoffmann, Traub & Co. in Basel, Switzerland; 1905 - established Hoffmann-La Roche Chemical Works Inc. in New York City, first offices in US; 1934 - first 50 kilograms of vitamin C produced, start of vitamin manufacturing at Roche; first vitamin preparation, Redoxon, launched; 1938 - vitamins as  company’s mainstay; 1960 - Librium launched as first of new class of agents known as benzodiazepines; 1962 - introduced Fluoro-uracil Roche, company's first anticancer drug; 1963 - introduced Valium Roche, sedative and anxiolytic drug (benzodiazepine family); 1964 - acquired French fragrance company Roure Bertrand Dupont; 1968 - opened Roche Institute of Molecular Biology, one of first centers for Research and Development; 1982 - introduced Rocephin, antibiotic of cephalosporin class (outsold all other Roche products world-wide by 1987); 1986 - launched Roferon-A (interferon alfa-2a), Roche's first genetically engineered drug, for the treatment of hairy cell leukaemia; 1989 - formed Roche Holding AG, holding company; 1990 - acquired controlling interest in Genentech for $2.1 billion; 1991 - formed Givaudan-Roure, fragrances and flavors division; 1994 - acquired Syntex; June 1999 - completed acquisition of Genentech for $4.2 billion; July 20, 1999 - offered 16% of Genentech stock in public offering; raised nearly $2 billion (total of 42% of shares eventually sold); 2000 - spun Givaudan-Roure off as separate company; 2003 - sold Vitamins & Fine Chemicals Division (world's leading supplier of vitamins, carotenoids) to Dutch Life Science and Performance Materials company; 2004 - sold consumer health business (over-the-counter medicines) to Bayer Consumer Care.

August 10, 1897 - Dr. Felix Hoffmann, chemist in chemical laboratory at Farbenfabriken vorm. Friedr. Bayer & Co.;  created chemically pure, stable form of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin); better pain-relieving, fever-lowering, anti-inflammatory substance for his father's rheumatoid arthritis than salicylic acid previously used; improved on earlier work of French chemist Charles Frederic Gerhardt who derived acetylsalicylic acid from plants, though only in impure, unstable form (1853); 1899 - launched under trade name Aspirin, initially as powder supplied in glass bottles.

1899 - First Edition of the Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy published under the title: "Merck's Manual of the Materia Medica", a 192-page book based on the United States Pharmacopoeia; intent - to provide clinically relevant material to meet the needs of practicing physicians; now in 17th edition.

March 6, 1899 - Chemist Felix Hoffman (of Elberfeld, Germany) received a German patent for aspirin; registered as a trademark; February 27, 1900 -  received U.S. patent for "Acetyl Salicylic Acid" (aspirin"), a "new and useful Improvement in the Manufacture or Production of Acetyl Salicylic Acid."

1900 - Pfizer filed official certificate of incorporation in the state of New Jersey, with authorized capital of $2 million; 1905 - Emile Pfizer, Charles Pfizer's youngest son, appointed President; last member of the Pfizer/Erhart family to be actively involved with the company; June 22, 1942 - went public, offered 240,000 shares of new common stock.

July 9, 1902 - Patent is obtained for barbituric acid - hope for insomniacs; 1864 - Adolf von Baeyer, twenty-nine-year-old assistant of Friedrich August Kekule (discoverer of the molecular structure of benzene) in Ghent, synthesized barbituric acid, first barbiturate; 1903 - German chemist Emil Fischer and his collaborator Joseph von Mering modified a class of drugs originally synthesized in 1864 in a way that made them effective as sedatives and hypnotics; realized that their new drug, "diethyl barbituric acid," or barbital (colorless crystalline organic compound. used in medicine as a soporific), was a sedative - did not taste unpleasant, had few side effects, acted at therapeutic levels far beneath the toxic dose.

1908 - Abe Plough (16), Memphis entrepreneur, founded Plough, Inc.; borrowed $125 from his father, started as one man business; created product called Plough's Antiseptic Healing Oil (linseed oil, carbolic acid, camphor); 1918 - incorporated as Plough Chemical Co. (later changed to Plough, Inc.); 1920 - acquired St. Joseph Company (Chattanooga, TN), children's aspirin; 1951 - incorporated; 1954 - net sales of $254.5 million; 1971 - merged with Schering Corporation, primarily manufacturer of prescription pharmaceuticals; Plough was Chairman of both Plough, Incorporated, and Schering-Plough.

January 1, 1915 - Bayer pharmaceuticals in Germany made aspirin available for the first time in tablet form (vs. powder); 1829 - Salicin, the parent compound of the salicylate drug family isolated from willow bark; 1875 - sodium salicylate used as commercial pain reliever, side effects (bleeding of stomach lining); 1897 - Felix Hoffman, German chemist working for Bayer, found suitable, less acidic medication - acetylsalicylic acid (marketed by Bayer under the name "Aspirin"); became biggest selling drug in world as analgesic (anti-pain), anti-inflammatory, antipyretic (fever-reducing) medication; May 30, 1922 - Bayer Company, Inc. registered "Bayer" trademark first sued January 2, 1895 (Preparations or Medicines for Pains and Aches of Nervous or Organic Origin and for Rheumatic, Neuralgic, and Gouty Conditions).

August 5, 1924 - H. A. Metz Laboratories, Inc. (New York, NY) registered trademark "Novocain" (anaesthetics); September 8, 1917 - trademark first used.

February 4, 1926 - Group of managers from Sterling Products, Household Products founded American Home Products as diversified holding company; 1930 - acquired Anacin, became company's leading product; 1931 - acquired John Wyeth & Brother from Harvard University for $2.9 million; 1943 - six companies merged into Wyeth Laboratories; 1944 - one of 22 companies selected by government to manufacture penicillin; 1958 - Dristan Tablets launched; 1984 - Advil introduced (first non-prescription ibuprofen in U. S.); most famous prescription-to-OTC switch in product history; 1989 - acquired A. H. Robins (ChapStick, Robitussin); 1994 - Effexor introduced (first serotonin and norepinephrene reuptake inhibitor for treatment of depression); 1994 - acquired American Cyanimid (Centrum); March 11, 2002 - American Home Products changed name to Wyeth to reflect change to global pharmaceutical company.

February 14, 1929 - Sir Alexander Fleming, young bacteriologist, introduced mold by-product called penicillin to cure bacterial infections; had left plate of staphylococcus bacteria uncovered, noticed a mold had fallen on culture, killed many of the bacteria; identified mold as penicillium notatum (similar to kind found on bread).

February 21, 1931 - Miles Laboratories introduced Alka Seltzer in the U.S.; Hub Beardsley, president of Miles Laboratories asked chief chemist, Maurice Treneer, to develop an effervescent tablet to ward off illness, with aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) and sodium bicarbonate as the main ingredients (had worked for staff members of the local newspaper);  June 9, 1931 - Dr. Miles Medical Company (Elkhart, IN) registered "Alka-Seltzer" trademark first used December 20, 1930 (antic-acid effervescent preparations); 1951 -  Speedy Alka-Seltzer character created; featured Alka-Seltzer tablet body with hat,  "effervescent" wand; 1953 - Paul Margulies wrote the "Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz" theme song; 2005 - Alka-Seltzer sold over 300 million tablets.

May 12, 1938 - Sandoz Labs manufactured LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide).

1943 - Dr. George Rieveschl, chemical engineer (organic chemist), synthesized antihistamine compund (beta-dimethylaminoethyl-benzhydryl ether hydrochloride) at University of Cincinnati, tested it at laboratories of Parke-Davis; renamed Benadryl; September 4, 1945 - Parke, Davis & Company registered "Benedryl" trademark first used November 27, 1944 (pharmaceutical preparations containing diphenhydamine hydrochloride); May 1946 - Pfizer Corporation bought rights, marketed it as presecription drug; June 3, 1947 - George Rieveschl, Jr, of Grosse Point Woods, MI, received a patent for "Dialkylaminoalkyl Benzhydryl Ethers and Salts Thereof" ("new class of chemical compounds of therapeutic value"); early 1960s - sales of about $6 million/year; 1980s - FDA allowed Benadryl to become generic over-the-counter drug (sales rose to $180 million/year).

April 16, 1943 - Albert Hoffman, Swiss chemist working at  Sandoz pharmaceutical research laboratory in Basel, Switzerland,  accidentally absorbed through his skin some Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD-25), synthetic drug he had created in 1938 as part of his research into the medicinal value of lysergic acid compounds; experienced restlessness, dizziness, "extreme activity of imagination"; April 19 - consumed 250 micrograms of the drug; was disturbed by unusual sensations and hallucinations; 1960's - widespread use of the so-called "mind-expanding" drug began when counterculture figures (Albert M. Hubbard, Timothy Leary, Ken Kesey) publicly expounded on benefits of using LSD as recreational drug; 1965 - made illegal in United States.

April 10, 1944 - Dr. Robert Burns Woodward and Dr. William von Eggers Doering produced the first synthetic quinine at the Converse Memorial Laboratory, Harvard University (anti-malarial drug, organic chemical).

May 25, 1948 - Andrew J. Moyer, of Peoria, IL, received a patent for a "Method of Production of Penicillin" ("method of increasing the penicillin content of culture liquors of a penicillin-producing mold"); method of mass production of penicillin; assigned to the United States of America (as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture).

September 21, 1948 - Selman A. Waksman, of New Brunswick, NJ, and Albert Schatz, of Passaic, NJ, received a patent for ""Streptomycin and Process for Preparation" ("by cultivation under particular controlled conditions of strains of the microorganism Actinomyes griseus"); assigned to Rutgers Research and Endowment Foundation.

January 27, 1950 - Science magazine announced the new antibiotic terramyacin (made by Charles Pfizer & Co.); isolated from Indiana soil, and found effective against pneumonia, dysentery, and other infections; first pharmaceutical discovered and developed exclusively by Pfizer scientists.

March 15, 1950 - United States Food and Drug Administration approved Terramycin® (oxytetracycline), a broad-spectrum antibiotic; Pfizer's first branded drug; July 18, 1950 - Ben A Sobin, of New York, NY, Alexander C. Finlay, of Long Island City, NY and Jasper H. Kane, of Garden City, NY received a patent for "Terramycin and Its Production"; assigned to Chas. Pfizer & Co., Inc.

July 18, 1950 - G. D. Searle & Co. registered "Dramamine" trademark first used December 31, 1948 (dimenhydrinate tablets  useful in the prevention and treatment of motion sickness, nausea, and vomiting, and a histamine antagonist). 

May 29, 1951 - James W. Clapp and Richard O. Roblin received a patent for "Heterocyclic Sulfonamides and Methods of Preparation Thereof" (improved sulfonamide drugs, synthetic antibacterial drugs containing the sulfanilamide molecular structure); first chemical substances systematically used to cure, prevent bacterial infections in humans (fewer than 20 off 5,000 sulfa drugs prepared and tested continue to have therapeutic value because resistant strains of bacteria develop; useful in the treatment of urinary tract infection); more potent antibacterial drugs have largely replaced the sulfa drugs. 

June 22, 1954 - American Chicle Company, Long Island City, NY, registered "Rolaids" (antacid mints) trademark.

January 11, 1955 - Lloyd H. Conover, of Oakdale, CT, received a patent for "Tetracycline" )"concerned with the preparation of the hitherto undescribed compounds derived from chlor-tetracycline"); antibiotic.

May 9, 1960 - The Food and Drug Administration approved use of world's first commercially produced birth-control bill--Enovid-10, made by the G.D. Searle Company of Chicago, IL; Margaret Sanger (opened the first birth-control clinic in the United States in 1916) commissioned development of "the pill"; 1953 - gave $150,000 to Dr. Gregory Pincus (biochemist at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology) and John Rock (gynecologist at Harvard Medical School) to continue his prior research and develop a safe and effective oral contraceptive for women; 1954 - clinical tests of the pill, which used synthetic progesterone and estrogen to repress ovulation in women, were initiated; original version contained at least five times the estrogen that it does today, and ten times the progestin; about 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy; women still need a doctor's prescription, available over-the-counter in many other countries.

August 18, 1960 - Searle Drug Company marketed first oral contraceptive in America.

April 10, 1962 - McNeil Laboratories, Incorporated registered "Co-Tylenol" trademark first used February 8, 1961 (Pediatric Cold Preparations); May 5, 1970 - registered "Tylenol" trademark first used April 5, 1955 (analgesic antipyretic preparations).

October 6, 1966 - LSD declared illegal in the United States.

1970 - Ciba and Geigy merged, formed Ciba-Geigy Ltd.

December 9, 1975 - SmithKline Corporation registered "Tagamet" trademark first used on June 16, 1974 (pharmaceutical preparation for gastrointestinal disorders); 1976 - introduced Tagamet (cimetidine), H2 blocker, in UK (1977 in US); revolutionized treatment of peptic ulcers.

January 16, 1980 -Scientists in Boston produce interferon, a natural virus-fighting substance through genetic engineering.

September 3, 1985 - Eli Lilly and Company registered "Prozac" trademark first used January 28, 1985 (pharmaceutical products, namely antidepressants).

March 20, 1987 - The FDA approved the sale of AZT (azidothymidine), an antiviral drug believed to prolong the lives of some AIDS patients; first authorized antiretroviral AIDS drug; 1964 - originally developed by Dr. Jerome Horowitz of the Michigan Cancer Foundation as a possible treatment for cancer; February 1985 - National Cancer Institute, under the direction of Dr. Samuel Broder, tested AZT and found that it was a potent inhibitor of AIDS.

January 21,1988 - American Medical Association said that Retin-A, anti-acne drug, could also reduce wrinkles caused by exposure to sun.

October 28, 1988 - French manufacturer Roussel Uclaf states that it will resume distribution of abortion drug RU-486.

May 28, 1991 - Alice A. Christen (Metairie, LA), Donna M. Gibson (New Orleans, LA) and John Bland (Kenner, LA) received a patent for the "Production of Taxol or Taxol-Like Compounds in Cell Culture" ("procedures will provide a supply of chemotherapeutic agents"); important break-through in cancer treatment; only existed naturally in the bark of the Pacific Yew, Taxus Brevifolia, found solely in the Pacific Northwest, where the number of trees is limited; vast number of trees must be felled in order to collect the large amount of bark necessary for commercial drug production; patent assigned to U.S. Dept of Agriculture.

1996 - Ciba Geigy merged with Sandoz,  formed Novartis AG, world's second-largest drugmaker.

February 24, 1997 - The Food and Drug Administration named six brands of birth control as safe and effective ''morning-after'' pills for preventing pregnancy.

September 15, 1997 - Two popular diet drugs, fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine, were withdrawn from the market by their manufacturers after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established a possible link between heart-valve damage and these drugs - often used in combination with another appetite suppressant, phentermine.

March 27, 1998 - The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug Viagra, made by Pfizer, to fight male impotence.

January 17, 2000 - British pharmaceutical companies Glaxo Wellcome PLC and SmithKline Beecham PLC agreed to  merger that would create world's largest drug maker.

September 28, 2000 - Capping a 12-year battle, the government approved use of the abortion pill RU-486.

December 30, 2003 - The federal government announced it would ban the sale of ephedra, an herbal stimulant linked to 155 deaths and dozens of heart attacks and strokes.

September 30, 2004 - Merck, maker of Vioxx, heavily promoted arthritis drug, pulled it from the market after a study found it doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

October 5, 2004 - Americans' supply of flu vaccine was abruptly cut in half as British regulators unexpectedly shut down Chiron Corp., a major supplier.

October 15, 2004 - The Food and Drug Administration ordered that all antidepressants carry strong warnings that they ''increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior'' in children who take them.

April 7, 2005 - The painkiller Bextra was taken off market; FDA said all similar prescription drugs should strongly warn about possible risk of heart attacks and strokes.

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(SmithKline Beecham), Anne Francis (1968). A Guinea A Box: A Biography. (London, UK: Hale, 191 p.). Beecham, Thomas, 1820-1907. Beecham started Beecham's Pills laxative business in England in 1842 - became widely successful.

(SmithKline Beecham), H.G. Lazell. (1975). From Pills to Penicillin: The Beecham Story: A Personal Account. (London, UK: Heinemann, 208 p.). Beecham Group Limited; Pharmaceutical industry -- Great Britain.

(SmithKline Beecham), Robert P. Bauman, Peter Jackson, and Joanne T. Lawrence (1997). From Promise to Performance: A Journey of Transformation at Smithkline Beecham (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 302 p.). SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals--Management; Pharmaceutical industry--Great Britain--Management; Pharmaceutical industry--United States--Management.

(Syntex Pharmaceuticals), Wendy B. Murphy (1994). Science & Serendipity: A Half Century of Innovation at Syntex. (White Plains, NY: Benjamin Co., 143 p.). Syntex Pharmaceuticals--History.

(Upjohn), Leonard Engel (1961). Medicine Makers of Kalamazoo. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 261 p.). Upjohn Company.

(Upjohn), Robert D.B. Carlisle (1987). A Century of Caring: The Upjohn Story (Elmsford, NY: Benjamin Co., 256 p.). Upjohn Company--History; Pharmaceutical industry--United States--History. 

(Vertex Pharmaceuticals), Barry Werth (1994). The Billion-Dollar Molecule: One Company's Quest for the Perfect Drug. (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 445 p.). Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated; Pharmaceutical biotechnology; Pharmaceutical industry--United States.

(Warner-Lambert), Elmer Holmes Bobst (1973). Bobst: The Autobiography of a Pharmaceutical Pioneer. (New York, NY: McKay, 360 p.). Former CEO (Warner-Lambert). Bobst, Elmer Holmes; Pharmaceutical industry--Biography.

Arthur Allen (2007). Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine’s Greatest Lifesaver. (New York, NY: Norton, 512 p.). Washington-based Journalist. Vaccination--History; Communicable diseases--Prevention--History; Vaccination--history--United States; Vaccines--history--United States; Dissent and Disputes--history--United States; Health Policy--history--United States; History, Modern 1601---United States; Vaccination--adverse effects--United States; Vaccines--adverse effects--United States. 200-year history of vaccination; shifting understanding of vaccination since its creation.

Marcia Angell (2004). The Truth about the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What To Do about It. (New York, NY: Random House, 305 p.). Pharmaceutical industry--United States--Costs; Drugs--Prices--United States; Drugs--Research--United States--Finance; Prescription pricing--United States; Advertising--Drugs--United States; Pharmaceutical policy--United States. 

Eds. Tom Blackett and Rebecca Robins (2001). Brand Medicine: The Role of Branding in the Pharmaceutical Industry. (New York, NY: Palgrave, 308 p.). Group Deputy Chairman of Interbrand; Senior Consultant of Interbrand Healthcare. Pharmaceutical industry--United States; Drugs--United States--Marketing; Brand name products--United States; Brand choice--United States. 

Jorg Blech; translated by Gisela Wallor Hajjar (7/30/2006). Inventing Disease and Pushing Pills: Pharmaceutical Companies and the Medicalisation of Normal Life. (New York, NY: Routledge, 176 p.). Molecular Biologist, Science Editor of Der Spiegel. Drug utilization; Pharmaceutical industry; Drugs--Social aspects; Drug Industry; Marketing; Sociology, Medical. How pharmaceutical industry is redefining health; many normal life processes systematically reinterpreted as pathological to create new markets for treatments. 

Richard Davenport-Hines (2002). The Pursuit of Oblivion: A Global History of Narcotics. (New York, NY: Norton, 466 p.). Drug abuse--History; Narcotics--History; Drugs of abuse--History; Drug traffic--History; Narcotics, Control of--History.

Richard A. Epstein (2006). Overdose: How Government Regulation Stifles Pharmaceutical Innovation. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 296 p.). James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law (University of Chicago), and Peter and Kirstin Bedford Senior Fellow (Hoover Institution). United States. Food and Drug Administration; United States. Food and Drug Administration; Pharmaceutical industry--Government policy--United States; Drug Industry--United States; Public Policy--United States; Government Regulation--United States. Tortuous course of  new drug from early development to final delivery; regulatory framework that surrounds all aspects of drug making. 

Alfonso Gambardella (1995). Science and Innovation: The US Pharmaceutical Industry During the 1980s. (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 199 p.). Pharmaceutical industry--United States; Pharmaceutical industry--Technological innovations--United States--History--20th century; Drugs--Research--United States--Costs; Pharmacy--Research--United States--Costs.

Merrill Goozner (2004). The $800 Million Pill: The Truth Behind the Cost of New Drugs. (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 297 p.). Former Chief Economics Correspondent (Chicago Tribune). Prescription pricing; Drugs--Prices; Pharmaceutical industry; Consumer education. 

Dan Hurley (2006). Natural Causes: Death, Lies, and Politics in America’s Herbal Supplement Industry. (New York, NY: Broadway Books, 324 p.). Herbs--Toxicology; Dietary supplements--Toxicology; Herb industry--United States; Dietary supplements industry--United States. $20 billion/year industry despite lack of evidence that products are safe,  effective. 

Jacky Law (2006). Big Pharma: How Modern Medicine is Damaging Your Health and What You Can Do About It. (New York, NY: Carroll & Graf, 256 p.). Pharmaceutical industry; Drug Industry; Marketing; Sociology, Medical; Drugs--Marketing; Advertising--Drugs. Small number of corporations dominate global healthcare agenda, crowd out public good.

Jonathan Liebenau (1987). Medical Science and Medical Industry: The Formation of the American Pharmaceutical Industry (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 207 p.). Pharmaceutical industry--United States--History; Pharmaceutical policy--United States--History; Medical innovations--United States--History; Drug Industry--history--United States; Technology, Pharmaceutical--history--United States.

Du Liping (2005). The Marketing of Traditional Medicines in China: The Case of Guangzi Province. (Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 277 p.). Lecturer in Chinese (University of Melbourne). Drugs--China--Marketing--History; Medicine, Chinese--History; Pharmaceutical industry--China--History; Marketing--China--History; Drugs--China--Guangxi Zhuangzu Zizhiqu--Marketing--History; Medicine, Chinese--China--Guangxi Zhuangzu Zizhiqu--Case studies; Pharmaceutical industry--China--Guangxi Zhuangzu Zizhiqu--Case studies; Marketing--China--Guangxi Zhuangzu Zizhiqu--Case studies. Marketing system distinct from the well-known rural marketing system for trade in non-specialized goods.

Tom Mahoney (1959). The Merchants of Life; An Account of the American Pharmaceutical Industry. (New York, NY: Harper, 278 p.). Pharmaceutical industry--United States; Drug trade--United States.

Ray Moynihan and Alan Cassels (2005). Selling Sickness: How the World’s Biggest Pharmaceutical Companies Are Turning Us All into Patients. (New York, NY: Nation Books, 254 p.). Pharmaceutical industry; Drug Industry; Marketing; Sociology, Medical; Drugs--Marketing; Advertising--Drugs. More and more ordinary life is "medicalized". 

Melody Petersen (2008). Our Daily Meds: How the Pharmaceutical Companies Transformed Themselves into Slick Marketing Machines and Hooked the Nation on Prescription Drugs. (New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 448 p.). Covered Pharmaceuticals for The New York Times. Drugs--United States--Marketing; Drug Industry--economics--United States; Drug Industry--ethics--United States; Biomedical Research--economics--United States; Marketing--ethics--United States; Physician’s Practice Patterns--ethics--United States; Prescriptions, Drug--economics--United States. Industry with promise to help so many is now leaving legacy of needless harm: how corporate salesmanship has triumphed over science;  inside biggest pharmaceutical companies, how promotion driven industry has taken over practice of medicine, changing American life; selling dangerous medicines as if they were Coca-Cola or Cadillacs.

Toine Pieters (2005). Interferon: The Science and Selling of a Miracle Drug. (New York, NY: Routledge, 264 p.). Professor of the History of Pharmacy (Groningen University), Senior Lecturer in the History of Medicine (VU Amsterdam Medical Centre, The Netherlands). Interferon--History; Interferon industry--History. Beginnings, history, fate of Interferon.

Viviane Quirke (2004). Collaboration in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Changing Relationships in Britain and France, 1935-1965. (New York, NY: Routledge, 224 p.). Pharmacy--Research--France--History--20th century; Drugs--Research--France--History--20th century; Pharmaceutical industry--France--History--20th century; Pharmacy--Research--Great Britain--History--20th century; Drugs--Research--Great Britain--History--20th century; Pharmaceutical industry--Great Britain--History--20th century; Pharmacy--Research--International cooperation; Drugs--Research--International cooperation; Pharmaceutical industry--International cooperation; Drug Industry--history--France; Drug Industry--history--Great Britain; History, 20th Century--France; History, 20th Century--Great Britain; International Cooperation--history--France; International Cooperation--history--Great Britain; Technology, Pharmaceutical--history--France; Technology, Pharmaceutical--history--Great Britain. 'British decline' after war; evolution of co-operation in Britain and France, helped to disseminate  culture of research, resulted in transformation of medical sciences, pharmaceutical industry in both countries.

Jeffrey Robinson (2001). Prescription Games: Money, Ego, and Power Inside the Global Pharmaceutical Industry. (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 343 p.). Pharmaceutical industry--United States; Pharmaceutical industry--Moral and ethical aspects.

Eds. Michael A. Santoro, Thomas M. Gorrie (2005). Ethics and the Pharmaceutical Industry. (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 492 p.). Associate Professorin the Business Environment Department (Rutgers Business School); Corporate Vice President, Government Affairs & Policy (Johnson & Johnson). Pharmaceutical industry; Drugs--Marketing--Moral and ethical aspects; Drugs--Research--Moral and ethical aspects; Medical innovations--Social aspects; Social responsibility of business. Growing tension between the industry and the public. Role of intellectual property rights and patent protection; moral,  economic requisites of research, clinical trials; drug pricing;  marketing.

Bernice Schacter (2006). The New Medicines: How Drugs Are Created, Approved, Marketed, and Sold. (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 280 p.). Biomedical Consultant and Writer. Drug development--Popular works; Clinical trials--Popular works; Pharmaceutical industry--Popular works; Consumer education; Drug Industry--organization & administration--United States; Pharmaceutical Preparations--economics--United States; Clinical Trials--United States; Drug Design--United States; Drugs, Investigational--economics--United States; Legislation, Drug--United States. Path from bench to bedside.

Joseph F. Spillane (2000). Cocaine: From Medical Marvel to Modern Menace in the United States, 1884-1920. (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 214 p.). Cocaine habit--United States--History; Cocaine--United States--History; Cocaine industry--United States--History; Narcotics, Control of--United States--History.

Leonard J. Weber (2006). Profits Before People?: Ethical Standards and the Marketing of Prescription Drugs. (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 168 p.). Former Faculty Member (University of Detroit Mercy). Pharmaceutical industry--Moral and ethical aspects--United States; Marketing--Moral and ethical aspects--United States; Drug Industry--ethics--United States; Drug Industry--economics--United States; Marketing--ethics--United States; Pharmaceutical Preparations--United States. Author exposes pharmaceutical industry practices that have raised ethical concerns.

James Harvey Young (1961). The Toadstool Millionaires; A Social History of Patent Medicines in America before Federal Regulation. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 282 p.). Patent medicines; Patent medicines--Law and legislation--United States.

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Business History Links

FDA Centennial, 1906-2006               http://www.fda.gov/centennial/                                                     On June 30th 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Food and Drugs Act, which prohibiting interstate commerce in misbranded and adulterated foods, drinks, and drugs. Broadly understood, this action was part of the Progressive Movement in the United States which brought forth a number of substantial changes in the way that government interacted with private industry and so on. 100 years on, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has decided to celebrate the centennial of this act by creating this site. Starting at the homepage, visitors can learn about events created to celebrate the FDA’s legacy as well as read a nice feature titled "This Week in FDA History". Visitors may also want to look through a nice graphic presentation titled "FDA’s Role in Protecting and Promoting Public Health". Through images and text, this presentation brings together some highlights of their work over the years, including information about the effects of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938. Finally, the site also contains a short quiz on FDA history.