Smith, Kline & French (SKF) was an American

pharmaceutical company The pharmaceutical industry discovers, develops, produces, and markets drugs or pharmaceutical drugs for use as medications to be administered to patients (or self-administered), with the aim to cure them, vaccinate them, or alleviate sympt ...

History

In 1830,

John K. Smith John K. Smith (died 1845) was an American pharmacist and businessman, who was the founder of ''SmithKline'' as in GlaxoSmithKline Smith trained as a druggist, and joined his brother-in-law, John Gilbert, in 1830 to open a dispensing chemist at 296 ...

opened a drugstore in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, and his younger brother, George, joined him in 1841 to form John K Smith & Co. In 1865,

Mahlon Kline Mahlon ( ''Maḥlōn'') and Chilion (כִּלְיוֹן ''Ḵilyōn'') were two brothers mentioned in the Book of Ruth. They were the sons of Elimelech of the tribe of Judah and his wife Naomi. Together with their parents, they settled in the land ...

joined ''Smith and Shoemaker'', as John K Smith and Co had become in the meantime, as a bookkeeper. In 1875, he took on additional responsibilities as a salesman and added many new and large accounts, as a reward the company, Mahlon K Smith and Company, was renamed into Smith, Kline and Company. In 1891, Smith, Kline and Company acquired French, Richards and Company, founded in 1844 by Clayton French and William Richards, which provided the company with a greater portfolio of consumer brands. In 1929 ''Smith, Kline and French Company'' was renamed into ''Smith Kline and French Laboratories'' and the company put more focus on research in order to sustain its business. In 1932, SKF chemist Gordon Alles was awarded a patent for

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from alpha- methylphenethylamine) is a strong central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. It is also commonly used ...

. In 1968, the company acquired

Recherche et Industrie Thérapeutiques Recherche et Industrie Thérapeutiques (R.I.T.) was founded in Genval, Belgium, as a penicillin factory in 1945 by Dr Pieter De Somer, who later became the founder of the Rega Institute for Medical Research and rector of the Katholieke Universit ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and changed its name in ''SmithKline-RIT''. SmithKline acquired

Allergan Allergan plc is an American, Irish-domiciled pharmaceutical company that acquires, develops, manufactures and markets brand name drugs and medical devices in the areas of medical aesthetics, eye care, central nervous system, and gastroenterology. ...

in 1982, an eye and skincare business, and merged with Beckman Instruments, Inc., a company specialising in diagnostics and measurement instruments and supplies. After the merger the company was renamed ''SmithKline Beckman''. SmithKline Beckman and

The Beecham Group plc The Beecham Group plc was a British pharmaceutical company. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Beecham, after having merged with American pharmaceutical company SmithKline Beckman to become SmithKline Beecham, merged with Glaxo ...

merged in 1989 to form

SmithKline Beecham 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 tent ...

plc. In 2000, SmithKline Beecham merged with Glaxo Wellcome to form

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 tent ...

(GSK).

References

External links

History of GSK
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Kline and French Pharmaceutical companies disestablished in 2000 Defunct pharmaceutical companies of the United States GSK plc 1830 establishments in Pennsylvania 2000 mergers and acquisitions