Rhône-Poulenc () was a French chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in 1928. In 1999, it merged with Hoechst AG to form Aventis. As of 2015, the pharmaceutical operations of Rhône-Poulenc are part of

Sanofi Sanofi S.A. is a French Multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. The corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 200 ...

and the chemicals divisions are part of Solvay group and Bayer Crop Science.

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 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, and Camille Poulenc (1864–1942). Établissements Poulenc Frères had purchased May & Baker in 1922, the latter continuing to trade under its original name until 1990. 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 d ...

which it sold to Smith, Kline & French (today part of GlaxoSmithKline) who marketed the drug as Thorazine. In 1986, Rhône-Poulenc acquired the German pharmaceutical A. Natterman & Cie GmbH. In 1990, it merged with the pharmaceutical company Rorer to form Rhône-Poulenc Rorer. In January 1999, Rhône-Poulenc merged with Hoechst AG 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

. The company was bought by Établissements Poulenc Frères (later to become Société des Usines Chimiques Rhône-Poulenc) in 1922, and subsequently moved to Dagenham, Essex, although it continued to trade under the May & Baker name. In 1997, its chemicals division was spun off into a separate company named Rhodia and was later acquired by the Solvay 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 (English: , commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and biomedical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer' ...

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 for the building of the Hallandsås tunnel. 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 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-fines 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.

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 1999 mergers and acquisitions Companies formerly listed on Euronext Paris