Pharmacia & Upjohn
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| Public | |
| Industry | Pharmaceutical |
| Fate | Acquired by Pfizer |
| Founded | Merger of Pharmacia AB & The Upjohn Company |
Pharmacia & Upjohn was a global pharmaceutical company formed by the merger of Sweden-based Pharmacia AB and the American company Upjohn in 1995. Today the remainder of the conpany is owned by Pfizer. Kalamazoo County retains major manufacturing capabilities, as well as a large stake in Pfizer's former animal health business, Zoetis. In 1997, Pharmacia & Upjohn sold several brands to Johnson & Johnson, including Motrin and Cortaid.
In 1997 the biotechnology division of the company; Pharmacia Biotech, merged with Amersham Life Science with the new merged entity being known as Amersham Pharmacia Biotech. The Pharmacia name was later dropped when Pharmacia & Upjohn sold its share of the company to Amersham plc, with the company being renamed Amersham Biosciences in 2001. In 2004 Amersham Biosciences was acquired by GE Healthcare. The Life sciences division of GE Healthcare still has its headquarters in Uppsala.
In 1999, the nutrition division of the company was sold to Fresenius.
Monsanto acquired the pharmaceutical company G. D. Searle & Company in 1985 and through this acquisition had acquired celecoxib, which had been developed by G. D. Searle & Company. Celecoxib is an anti-inflammatory drug that became widely used soon after its approval by the FDA at the end of 1998. In December 1999 Pharmacia & Upjohn merged with the American biotechnology and medical company, Monsanto and renamed itself Pharmacia; the company retained Monsanto's Pharmaceutical division - known as Searle - and spun off the remaining interests (mainly agroculture and biotechnological assets), which became known as the "new Monsanto". The newly merged entity then changed its name again, being known as Pharmacia Corp.
In July 2002, Pharmacia Corp. and Pfizer announced an agreement that Pfizer would purchase Pharmacia; control of celecoxib was often mentioned as a key reason for Pfizer's acquisition of Pharmacia. The deal was finalized in April 2003.
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