Chattem, Inc. is an American,

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

-based, producer and marketer of over-the-counter healthcare products, toiletries, dietary supplements, topical analgesics, and medicated skin care products. Originally named the Chattanooga Medicine Company, the company’s brand portfolio holds twenty-two brands including Allegra,

Gold Bond Gold Bond is a brand of over-the-counter skin care products produced by Chattem of Chattanooga, Tennessee, now a subsidiary of the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi. It is available as both a powder and a topical cream. Gold Bond is used to cur ...

, Flexall,

IcyHot Liniment (from la, linere, meaning "to anoint"), also called embrocation and heat rub, is a medicated topical preparation for application to the skin. Some liniments have viscosity similar to that of water; others are lotion or balm; still other ...

Rolaids Rolaids is an American brand of calcium and magnesium-based antacid produced by Chattem. It was invented by American chemist Irvine W. Grote in the late 1920s, and originated with manufacturing in Chattanooga, Tennessee, under one of Chattem's ...

, Sun-In, Pamprin,

Dexatrim Dexatrim is an over-the-counter (OTC) dietary supplement meant to assist with weight loss. Dexatrim claims it "gives you the power to lose weight, curb binges, and keep you in control of your diet."Dexatrim Dietary Supplement. (2010). Retrieved fro ...

, Aspercreme, and

Selsun Blue Selsun Blue is an over-the-counter brand of dandruff shampoo now owned by Sanofi. First made by Abbott Laboratories, the brand was bought by Chattem in 2002. Chattem was acquired by Sanofi in 2010, although in some markets, it is sold by Rohto Phar ...

. The company produces two-thirds of its products at its Chattanooga production facilities with the remaining produced by third-party producers. The company is a subsidiary of the French multinational pharmaceutical company

Sanofi Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. Originally, the corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Syn ...

. The company’s brands are sold nationally through mass merchandiser, drug and food retailers. In 2005, 70% of the firm's sales were made through its top ten customers, which include

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

Walgreens Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, an ...

, and Kroger. Sales to Wal-Mart constituted 36% of Chattem’s total sales in 2005. Chattem supports these sales with a forty-five-person sales force and broadcast media advertising. Chattem has market penetration in the United States, Europe, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

History

* Chattem was founded by Zeboim Cartter Patten as the Chattanooga Medicine Company in 1879. The company incorporated in 1909 and has remained in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to this day. * During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Chattanooga Medicine Company turned into a major supplier of

K-Rations The K-ration was an individual daily combat food ration which was introduced by the United States Army during World War II. It was originally intended as an individually packaged daily ration for issue to airborne troops, tank crews, motorcycle co ...

to the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, producing 34 million rations from 1942 to 1945, earning 5 "E" Awards for support of war efforts. * The firm adopted Chattem as its name and went public in 1969. * Chattem’s top and bottom lines grew significantly from 1989 through 1992. The source of this growth was the company’s strategy of purchasing under-marketed consumer brands and aggressively marketing those in its portfolio. In 1993, Chattem experienced a 14% decline in sales from the loss of Warner-Lambert’s

business. To fund a one-time special dividend in 1994, $75 million in high-yield bonds were issued. * In January 2013, Chattem acquired the full rights to Rolaids, which had seen its brand wounded under the ownership of

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

McNeil Consumer Healthcare McNeil Consumer Healthcare is an American medicals products company belonging to the Johnson & Johnson Health care, healthcare products group. It primarily sells fast-moving consumer goods such as Over-the-counter drug, over-the-counter drugs. ...

with a series of

product recall A product recall is a request from a manufacturer to return a product after the discovery of safety issues or product defects that might endanger the consumer or put the maker/seller at risk of legal action. The recall is an effort to limit ruin ...

s and

quality control Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements". This approach places ...

issues throughout 2010 that ended with most of the Rolaids line discontinued. In September, 2013 Chattem returned Rolaids to the market with new

trade dress Trade dress is the characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging (or even the design of a building) that signify the source of the product to consumers. Trade dress is an aspect of trademark law, which is a form of intelle ...

, though production of Rolaids is not expected to return to Chattanooga. * In March 2014, Chattem sold Dexatrim to NVE Pharmaceuticals.

Recent events

In October 2006, Chattem announced it would acquire five brands for $410 million as a result of the merger between

and the consumer healthcare business of

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

. These brands are: * ACT Anti-Cavity Mouthwash * Unisom * Cortizone 10 *

Kaopectate Kaopectate is an orally taken medication from Arcadia Consumer Healthcare for the treatment of mild diarrhea. It is also sometimes used to treat indigestion, nausea, and stomach ulcers. The active ingredients have varied over time, and are differ ...

* Balmex-Diaper Rash Ointment Pending the US government’s approval of the merger of Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, Chattem will acquire five brands divested from the firms. Chattem has announced it expects to take possession of the brands around January 2007. These mature brands will provide $150 million in additional revenue to Chattem per year. On December 21, 2009, Paris-based (France)

, the world's fourth largest drugmaker, said it was acquiring Chattem in a $1.9 billion cash deal.

said the acquisition would be completed by the first quarter of 2010."Sanofi to Acquire Chattem", ''The Economic Times'' (December 22, 2009)
/ref>

Current brands

Chattem manufactures many over-the-counter healthcare products. They are marketed in three categories: pain relief, skin & hair care, and health & wellness.

Pain relief

* Arthritis Hot * Aspercreme *

Capzasin Capsaicin (8-methyl-''N''-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) ( or ) is an active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus ''Capsicum''. It is a chemical Irritation, irritant for mammals, including humans, and produces a sensation ...

* Cortizone 10 * Flexall *

Icy Hot Icy commonly refers to conditions involving ice, a frozen state, usually referring to frozen water. Icy or Icey may also refer to: People * Icy Spicy Leoncie, an Icelandic-Indian musician Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ICY (band), a vocal ...

* Sportscreme

Skin & hair care

Gold Bond Ultimate
*

Health & wellness

ACT Oral Care
* Allegra *

* Nasacort *

* Unisom * Unisom Natural Nights *

Xyzal Levocetirizine, sold under the brand name Xyzal among others, is a second-generation antihistamine used for the treatment of allergic rhinitis (hay fever) and long term hives of unclear cause. It is less sedating than older antihistamines. It is ...

References

External links

{{Chattem Sanofi American companies established in 1879 1879 establishments in Tennessee Companies based in Chattanooga, Tennessee 2010 mergers and acquisitions American subsidiaries of foreign companies