1860–1899 In 1860, pharmacists John (1834–1907) and Frank Wyeth opened a drugstore with a small research lab on Walnut Street in Philadelphia. In 1862, on the suggestion of doctors, they began to manufacture large quantities of commonly ordered medicines. They were successful, and in 1864 they began supplying medicines and
beef extract to the Union army during the
Civil War. In 1872, Henry Bower, an employee of Wyeth, developed one of the first rotary compressed tablet machines in the
United States. This enabled the mass production of medicines with unprecedented precision and speed. It was successful, and the Wyeth brothers won multiple awards at the
Centennial Exhibition. In 1883, Wyeth opened its first international facility in
Montreal, Canada, and began vaccine production. Six years later a fire destroyed the brothers' original Walnut Street store, and they sold the retail business and focused on mass production.
1900–1929 John Wyeth died in 1907 and his only son, Stuart, became the company's president. The Whitehall building in downtown
Manhattan became the corporation's first headquarters. Global sales increased due to the sales of Wyeth's
Kolynos brand of toothpaste. In 1929, Stuart Wyeth died and left controlling interest to
Harvard University.
1930–1949 In 1930, the Wyeth company purchased
Anacin, a product for tension headaches which quickly became the company's flagship product. One year later, Harvard sold Wyeth to American Home Products for
US$2.9 million. In 1935, Alvin G. Brush, a
Certified Public Accountant, became
CEO of the organization and served for 30 years. Under Brush's leadership, 34 new companies were acquired in 15 years, including
Chef Boyardee and the
S.M.A. Corporation, a pharmaceutical firm specializing in infant formulas. Wyeth also made its first licensing deal, acquiring an antibiotic for
arthritis vaccine research. In 1941, the US entered
World War II, and Wyeth shipped typical wartime drugs such as
sulfa bacteriostatics,
blood plasma,
typhus vaccine,
quinine, and
atabrine tablets. Wyeth was later rewarded for its contribution to the war effort. During this time, Wyeth launched its
penicillin research facility with G. Raymond Rettew. In 1943, Wyeth purchased
G. Washington Coffee Refining Company, an
instant coffee company created by early 20th century Belgian inventor
George Washington. In 1943, Wyeth merged with
Ayerst, McKenna and Harrison, Ltd. of Canada. With this merger came
Premarin, the world's first conjugated
estrogen medicine, which was a flagship product for Wyeth until 2002, when preliminary results from the
Women's Health Initiative linked it to a number of negative effects, including increased risk for breast cancer. Sales subsequently fell off worldwide. Wyeth was one of 22 companies selected by the government in 1944 to manufacture penicillin for the military, and later for the general public. In 1945, Wyeth acquired the Fort Dodge Serum Company, entering the animal health field.
1950–1969 In 1951, Wyeth launched
Antabuse, a drug for the treatment of
alcoholism, as well as the
antihistamine Phenergan. Ansolyen was launched the next year as a
high blood pressure medication. The
anticonvulsant Mysoline was introduced in 1954. Other drugs introduced during this time include
Isordil, a
vasodilator for treatment of
angina,
Dryvax, a
freeze-dried smallpox vaccine, and Ovral, a
combined oral contraceptive pill. Pharmaceuticals were generating an ever-increasing percentage of Wyeth's sales. Wyeth became a leading US vaccine producer after supplying
polio vaccine for
Salk trials. The corporate headquarters were moved to
Radnor, Pennsylvania, where they remained until 2003. William F. Laporte became the Chairman and President of AHP in 1965, and served until 1981. The
World Health Organization initiated the Global Smallpox Eradication Program in 1967, and approached Wyeth to develop a better injection system for
smallpox vaccines which could be used in the field. Wyeth waived
patent royalties on its innovative
bifurcated needle, aiding in the delivery of over 200 million smallpox vaccines per year.
1970–1989 Wyeth's oral contraceptives became popular in the US. John W. Culligan, after becoming chairman and CEO in 1981, spun off less profitable lines and focused resources on consumer and prescription drugs. Wyeth made history in 1984 with the introduction of
Advil, the first nonprescription
ibuprofen in America, as well as the most famous prescription-to-
OTC switch in history. John R. Stafford became CEO and chairman in 1986. He completed the divestiture of non-core businesses such as household products, foods, candy (
Brach's), and medical devices (e.g., its Sherwood-Medical Company was sold to Tyco-Kendal in 1997). Wyeth and Ayerst merged to form Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, thus strengthening and consolidating Wyeth's pharmaceutical operations. In the late 1980s, Wyeth acquired the animal health businesses of
Bristol-Myers and
Parke-Davis. Wyeth also acquired A.H. Robins, makers of
Robitussin,
ChapStick,
Dimetapp, and the
Dalkon Shield merging it into its Whitehall unit to establish its Whitehall-Robins Division.
1990–1999 In 1990, Reckitt & Colman (now
Reckitt Benckiser) acquired Boyle-Midway from American Home Products. After a dedication of the food business, the
PAM trademark becomes part of American Home Foods.
Premarin becomes the most prescribed drug in the US in 1993. Effexor (
venlafaxine HCl), the first
serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), is introduced for the treatment of
clinical depression and is later indicated for
generalized anxiety disorder and
social anxiety disorder. In 1993, Wyeth founded the ''Women's Health Research Institute'', the only institute in the pharmaceutical industry entirely dedicated to research in women's health. The Institute conducted trials in
menopausal issues,
endometriosis,
contraception, and more. In 1994, Wyeth acquired
American Cyanamid and its subsidiary Lederle Laboratories. This acquisition brought the Lederle Praxis vaccines, new
research and development capacity, and
Centrum, the leading US
multivitamin. Wyeth's sales topped
US$13 billion in 1995; two years later,
Premarin became the company's first brand to reach
US$1 billion in sales. In 1995, Wyeth acquired the animal health division of
Solvay, which was folded into Fort Dodge Animal Health. The acquisition gave Fort Dodge Animal Health strong market presence in Europe and Asia as well as expanding its product portfolio to include swine and poultry vaccines. In 1996, American Home Products spun off its food unit as
International Home Foods. International Home Foods was purchased by
ConAgra Foods in 2000. Wyeth also purchases full ownership of
Genetics Institute, Inc. after acquiring a majority interest in 1992. In 1997, the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested that Wyeth withdraw its controversial diet drug
fenfluramine from the market after several reports of deaths and other health problems associated with the drug combination known as
fen-phen occurred. In 1998, American Home Products was left at the altar by British pharma powerhouse
SmithKline Beecham, who pulled the plug on the estimated $70 billion merger. The deal was reportedly killed in response to British regulators who feared losing jobs to a proposed US headquarters location. (SmithKline Beecham merged with fellow Brit
Glaxo Wellcome in 1999 to form the world's leading drug company.) This was the start of a three-year losing streak in the mergers and acquisitions game for AHP. In 1999, another American Home Products merger fell through, this time a proposed $34 billion merger-of-equals with chemical and biotech manufacturer
Monsanto Company. Though the companies issued a combined statement saying the breakup was mutual "because (the deal) was not in the best interests of shareholders," rumors circulated that AHP had canceled the deal due to issues in the soon-to-be-combined boardroom. (Monsanto announced in December 1999 that it would merge with
Pharmacia &
Upjohn instead; the new conglomerate eventually unloaded Monsanto again, before being bought themselves by
Pfizer in 2003.)
2000–2009 • In 2000, American Home Products lost a
US$65 billion friendly takeover bid for rival drug company
Warner-Lambert. After the merger announcement,
Pfizer offered a competing hostile bid, primarily to save its joint venture with Warner over
Lipitor (at the time the #1 prescription drug in the world). At one point talks were under way in which
Procter & Gamble would help by buying both companies in a wild three-way merger, a rumor which cost P&G a 10% drop in its stock price. Although both CEOs eventually toured the world to defend the deal to the company's shareholders, Pfizer won Warner-Lambert and formed the second largest drug company in the world, while AHP had to settle for a
US$1.8 billion
poison-pill payment. This was at the time the biggest poison-pill payment in US history. • On May 17, 2000 the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved
Gemtuzumab Ozogamicin (Mylotarg®; Wyeth Laboratories, now part of
Pfizer). The drug is a recombinant, humanized anti-CD33 monoclonal antibody (IgG4 κ antibody hP67.6) covalently attached to the cytotoxic antitumor antibiotic
calicheamicin (N-acetyl-γ-calicheamicin) via a bifunctional linker (4-(4-acetylphenoxy)butanoic acid). Gemtuzumab ozogamicin was developed in a collaboration between
Wyeth-Ayerst Research and
Celltech Chiroscience, using Celltech’s antibody-humanization technology and Wyeth-Ayerst’s calicheamicin-conjugation technology. The drug was approved on May 17, 2000 under the FDA's
Accelerated Approval regulations, and was indicated for the treatment of patients with CD33-positive
Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in first relapse who are 60 years of age or older and who are not considered candidates for cytotoxic chemotherapy. The approved dose was 9 mg/m i.v. over 4 h and repeated every 14 days. In 2010, after Pfizer acquired Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, gemtuzumab ozogamicin was voluntarily withdrawn from the market. In January 2017 Pfizer’s Biologics License Application (BLA; BLA761060) for gemtuzumab ozogamicin was accepted for filing by the FDA. A
Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for review by the
European Medicines Agency (EMA) was validated in December 2016 and on September 1, 2017, the FDA (re)approved gemtuzumab ozogamicin. The (re-)approval included a lower recommended dose, a different schedule in combination with chemotherapy or on its own, and a new patient population. • On January 23, 2009,
The Wall Street Journal reported that
Pfizer was in talks to buy Wyeth at a cost of
US$68 billion. On January 25, Pfizer agreed to the purchase, a deal financed with cash, shares and loans. The deal was completed on October 15, 2009. The purchase was approved by the SEC and went into effect later in 2009, although vestiges of Wyeth remained for another year or two while effects of the merger were ironed out. • Robert Essner, the company's former CEO, was appointed in 2001. On September 27, 2007, the Wyeth Board of Directors elected Bernard Poussot President and Chief Executive Officer effective on January 1, 2008. • On March 11, 2002, American Home Products changed its name to Wyeth, having spun off unrelated businesses in order to focus on pharmaceuticals. • As part of the
Women's Health Initiative sponsored by the
National Institutes of Health, a large-scale clinical trial for
hormone replacement therapy showed that long-term use of
progestin and
estrogen may increase the risk of
strokes,
heart attacks,
blood clots, and
breast cancer. Following these results, Wyeth experienced a significant decline in its sales of Premarin, Prempro (conjugated equine
estrogens) and related hormones, from over $2 billion in 2002 to just over $1 billion in 2006. The results from the study were significant enough that Wyeth terminated the trials early due to a fear that their participants may be at risk. • Wyeth, as a corporation, filed a 'citizens complaint' with the United States FDA on October 16, 2005, requesting that the US FDA take action against pharmacies who compound, manufacture, or sell unlicensed
bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) drugs to their patients. Specifically, Wyeth asserted that the BHRT drugs are not licensed by the FDA according to section 505 of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, misbranded and adulterated per sections 501 and 502 of 21 U.S.C. (paragraphs 351, 352, and 355). Drug manufacturers are required to demonstrate through clinical trials that marketed drugs are safe and efficacious, a process that BHRT drugs have not undergone. If honored, the request would require the same safety and efficacy data for those primarily engaged in
alternative medicine. • The
European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection blamed the presence of illegal steroids in the food supply on "fraudulent exchange and disposal of pharmaceutical waste". A Wyeth factory disposing of the byproducts from synthetic
progesterone manufacture was the source of the contamination. • In 2003 Wyeth reportedly contributed funds to a not-for-profit support group, The Meningitis Centre, which lobbied the
Australian Government to introduce universal immunisation against
pneumococcal disease. Wyeth produced the only
pneumococcal vaccine approved for young children in Australia. • During June 2009, an Arkansas federal judge granted public access to evidence that Wyeth Pharmaceuticals "ghostwrote" medical articles regarding its hormone therapy drug Prempro. Along with
The New York Times, PLoS Medicine, represented by the law firm Public Justice, had sought to intervene in a court case of women bringing an action in relation to Prempro and other hormone therapy drugs, in order to unseal papers that allegedly showed that Wyeth failed to disclose its role in preparing medical journal articles promoting Prempro and in recruiting academic authors to put their names on the articles for which is to say, they practised ghost writing. • On October 15, 2009 Pfizer signed the final acquisition papers making Wyeth a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer, thus completing the
US$68 billion dollar deal. ==Subsidiaries==