Rhône-Poulenc () was a French chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in 1928. In 1999 it merged with

Hoechst AG Hoechst AG () was a German chemicals then life-sciences company that became Aventis Deutschland after its merger with France's Rhône-Poulenc S.A. in 1999. With the new company's 2004 merger with Sanofi-Synthélabo, it became a subsidiary of the ...

to form

Aventis 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-Sy ...

. As of 2015, the pharmaceutical operations of Rhône-Poulenc are part of

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 ...

and the chemicals divisions are part of Solvay group and

Bayer Crop Science Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of busi ...

History

The company was founded in 1928 through the merger of Société des usines chimiques du Rhône (Society of Rhône Chemical Factories) from Lyon and

Poulenc Frères Poulenc Frères (Poulenc Brothers) was a French chemical, pharmaceutical and photographic supplies company that had its origins in a Paris pharmacy founded in 1827. From 1852 it began to manufacture (or package) photographic chemicals. It took the ...

(Poulenc Brothers) from Paris founded by Étienne Poulenc, a 19th-century Parisian apothecary and brought to prominence by his second and third sons Émile, father of composer

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

, and Camille Poulenc (1864–1942). In 1950, the company synthesized

chlorpromazine Chlorpromazine (CPZ), marketed under the brand names Thorazine and Largactil among others, is an antipsychotic medication. It is primarily used to treat psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. Other uses include the treatment of bipolar di ...

which it sold to Smith, Kline & French (today part of

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the ten ...

) who marketed the drug as Thorazine. In 1990, it merged with the pharmaceutical company Rorer to form Rhône-Poulenc Rorer. In January 1999, Rhône-Poulenc merged with

to form Aventis. In 2004, Aventis went on to merge with Sanofi-Synthélabo forming Sanofi-Aventis, the third largest pharmaceutical company in the world. In 2011, Sanofi-Aventis decided to drop the Aventis suffix and change its name to

. In 1997, its chemicals division was spun off into a separate company named Rhodia and was later acquired by the

Solvay Solvay may refer to: Companies and organizations * Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Brussels, Belgium * Solvay Conference, founded by Ernest Solvay, deals with open questions in physics and chemistry * Solvay Indupa, an Argen ...

group in 2011. The agricultural chemicals division of Rhône-Poulenc, known as Aventis CropScience after the merger with Hoechst, was sold to the German chemical and pharmaceutical company

Bayer Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of busi ...

in 2002. In 1997 Rhône-Poulenc came to play a central part in what is claimed to be the worst environmental accident in Sweden's history. Rhône-Poulenc supplied

Rhoca-Gil {{unreferenced, date=December 2013 Rhoca-Gil is a type of industrial sealant produced by Rhône-Poulenc, used in the construction of tunnels to block the passage of groundwater into the tunnel. The sealant begins as a liquid, is then injected into c ...

for the building of the

Hallandsås tunnel The Hallandsås Tunnel ( sv, Hallandsåstunneln), also known as the Hallandsås Ridge Tunnel or Scanlink, is a railway tunnel in Sweden. It connects the northern and the southern sides of the Hallandsås geological formation (a horst). The leng ...

. The chemical leaked into the artesian water, causing great damage to cattle, surrounding nature and workers at the construction site. Rhône-Poulenc was criticised for not pointing out the risks of using the sealant, which contained

acrylamide Acrylamide (or acrylic amide) is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH2=CHC(O)NH2. It is a white odorless solid, soluble in water and several organic solvents. From the chemistry perspective, acrylamide is a vinyl-substituted primary ...

and is considered to be carcinogenic. Criminal charges were brought against the company and In June 2001, the managing director of the former Rhône-Poulenc Sweden was found guilty of breaching the Chemical Products Act, and was to pay 60

day-fine A day-fine, day fine, unit fine or structured fine is a unit of fine payment that, above a minimum fine, is based on the offender's daily personal income. A crime is punished with incarceration for a determined number of days, or with fines. As in ...

s at SEK650 for a total of SEK60 000.Mårald (2007), p. 111-117 - ''See also printed sources'' Rhône-Poulenc originally funded the ''Rhône-Poulenc Prizes'', now known as the

Royal Society Prizes for Science Books The Royal Society Science Books Prize is an annual £25,000 prize awarded by the Royal Society to celebrate outstanding popular science books from around the world. It is open to authors of science books written for a non-specialist audience, and ...

Literature

* Chauveau, Sophie. 1999. L'Invention pharmaceutique : la pharmacie française entre l’État et la société au XX^e siècle. Le Plessis-Robinson: Sanofi-Synthélabo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhone-Poulenc Pharmaceutical companies disestablished in 1999 Pharmaceutical companies established in 1928 Pharmaceutical companies of France Defunct companies of France Sanofi French companies established in 1928