Warner–Lambert was an American

pharmaceutical company The pharmaceutical industry is a Medicine, medical industry that discovers, develops, produces, and markets pharmaceutical goods such as medications and medical devices. Medications are then administered to (or Self-medicate, self-administered b ...

History

Formerly two separate entities, the first company was started in 1856, when William R. Warner founded a drug store in Philadelphia. Warner went on to invent a tablet coating process gaining him a place in the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. William R. Warner and Company Limited acquired several other cosmetics companies in the early 20th century, and was renamed Warner-Hudnut, Inc. in 1950. The second half of the name came from Jordan Wheat Lambert, founder of the Lambert Pharmacal Company of St. Louis, famous for Listerine. The two companies merged in 1955, to form Warner–Lambert. Over the years, the company expanded through many mergers and acquisitions to become an international competitor in several businesses. In 1956, Warner–Lambert acquired Nepera Chemical (the makers of Anahist) from the Lasdon family, many of whom then became officers and directors of the merged business. In 1962, Warner-Lambert bought American Chicle, one of the world's largest manufacturers of gums and mints. The 1965 acquisition of a small cough tablet company in the United Kingdom resulted in the success of the Halls Mentho-Lyptus brand on a global scale. In 1970, Warner-Lambert bought the Schick razor blade company, founded in 1926 by Jacob Schick. In the same year, they also took over

Parke-Davis Parke-Davis is a subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Although Parke, Davis & Co. is no longer an independent corporation, it was once America's oldest and largest drug maker, and played an important role in medical history. In 1970 ...

, founded in Detroit in 1866, by Hervey Parke and George Davis. This was followed by acquisitions of Wilkinson Sword in March 1993, and Agouron Pharmaceuticals in January 1999. Its subsidiary Parke-Davis marketed the antidiabetic drug Rezulin, which was approved by the FDA in January 1997 but withdrawn by them in early 2000. In the end of the 1990s, Warner–Lambert formed an alliance with

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...

to bring its drug Lipitor to market. Lipitor launched in January 1997 to resounding success, reaching $1B in domestic sales within its first twelve months on the market. By 1999, Warner-Lambert was in agreement to merge with

American Home Products Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. was a pharmaceutical company until it was purchased by Pfizer in 2009. The company was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1860 as John Wyeth and Brother. Its headquarters moved to Collegeville, Pennsylvania, ...

, before Pfizer made its own offer to acquire the company. In February 2000, Pfizer bought Warner Lambert along with all of its subsidiary companies. The headquarters of Warner–Lambert in Morris Plains, New Jersey, was subsequently used by Pfizer,

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

, and

Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building automation, industrial automa ...

References

External links

Warner-Lambert: A History
Pfizer {{DEFAULTSORT:Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical companies based in New Jersey Pfizer Pharmaceutical companies established in 1856 Pharmaceutical companies disestablished in 2000 Companies based in Morris County, New Jersey Defunct companies based in New Jersey 1856 establishments in Pennsylvania 2000 mergers and acquisitions 2000 disestablishments in New Jersey Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange