Norcliff Thayer
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| Industry | Pharmaceuticals |
|---|---|
| Fate | Merged with SmithKline Beckman |
| Successor | SmithKline Beecham (now GlaxoSmithKline) |
| Founded | 1859 |
| Defunct | 1989 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Products | Phenethicillin, Methicillin |
The Beecham Group plc was a British pharmaceutical company. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Beecham, after having merged with SmithKline Beckman to become SmithKline Beecham, merged with Glaxo Wellcome to become GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). GSK still uses the Beechams brand name in the UK for its over-the-counter cold and flu relief products.
Beecham was the family business of Thomas Beecham (1820–1907), a chemist. He was the grandfather of the conductor also named Thomas Beecham (1879–1961). As a boy, he worked as a shepherd, selling herbal remedies as a sideline. He then started as a travelling salesman or peddler.
Their first product was Beecham's Pills, a laxative, in 1842. Subsequent success enabled him to open a shop in Wigan in 1847.
Beecham opened its first factory in St. Helens, Lancashire, for the rapid production of medicines in 1859. Under Thomas's son, Sir Joseph Beecham, 1st Baronet (1848–1916), the business expanded, but remained a patent medicine company and engaged in little research.
In 1924 Philip Hill, who made his money in real estate, acquired control of Beecham. Under his leadership, Beecham bought companies for various products and their marketing infrastructure, acquiring the Lucozade glucose drink and Macleans in 1938 and, at the same time, introducing the Ribena blackcurrant drink. In 1938 it also bought the company selling Eno which had an extensive international presence. By buying the company manufacturing Brylcreem the following year, it added hair products for men.
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