Adcock Ingram is a
South African pharmaceutical manufacturer listed on the
Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Adcock Ingram manufactures and markets healthcare products to both the private and public sectors.
Company organization
In 1995, five divisions comprised the company: critical care, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, wholesale products and an international division; the international division was created to manage the company's first marketing foray outside of South Africa.
the international division later disappeared as a transitional unit, leaving the four core units in place.
The company's office in
Leicester, England
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
was established in August 1993, with a staff of two people.
Jonathan Louw led the company's pharmaceuticals division from 2002, at which time the company's CEO was Mike Norris.
Louw became the firm's CEO in 2006, and Norris retired shortly thereafter.
Louw continued as CEO until at least 2013.
History
Adcock Ingram started as a pharmacy in
Krugersdorp
Krugersdorp (Afrikaans for ''Kruger's Town'') is a mining city in the West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius and Abner Cohen. Following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, a need arose for a ...
operating under the name EJ Adcock Pharmacy in 1890.
Krugersdorp at the turn of the century was a "bustling pioneer town".
In the early 1900s, Hyme Tannenbaum was apprenticed to then owner, Jack Blair. Hyme's brothers Jack, Len and Archie soon followed him into the pharmacy, which they eventually bought. Beginning with this one small pharmacy, the Tannenbaum brothers built a cross-country chain of retail pharmacies, a pharmaceutical and toiletry manufacturing giant and a highly respected South African success story. Adcock Ingram was first listed on the
Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 1950,
the first pharmaceutical company to list on the exchange.
The company began internationalisation in the 1990s, beginning with the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, the former meant to be a springboard into
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
.
The company was sold to Tiger Brands for R3.4 billion,
and became a wholly owned subsidiary in 2000.
However, Adcock had been considered a subsidiary of Tiger Brands since 1978.
The relationship with Tiger Brands enabled acquisitions in the 1980s such as the Mer-National division of
Dow Chemicals Africa; a 40% share of
Baxter's Critical Care Division; and acquisitions of Restan Laboratories and the South African interests of
Sterling Winthrop.
The company's acquisitions continued into the 1990s with Lepping, Laser, Pharmatech, Zurich Pharmaceuticals, Covan Pharmaceuticals and Salters.
A merger between Adcock and Premier Pharmaceuticals took place in 1996, which placed Adcock as "the leading supplier of health care products in South Africa."
2001 saw Adcock's acquisition of medical diagnostics firm Steri-Lab, and Robertsons Homecare's acquisition came in 2003.
By 2005, Adcock revenues constituted half of all revenues for parent firm Tiger Brands.
However, growing friction between Adcock's portfolio and the strategic direction charted by Tiger led to Tiger's effective termination in investment in Adcock, which eventually led to divestment of Adcock in 2008, which was shortly followed by Adcock's relisting on the JSE exchange as an independent firm.
Pharmaceutical brands
Pharmaceuticals
Health supplements
Research supplies
Health care brands
Hospital business
Consumer brands
See also
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List of pharmaceutical companies
This listing is limited to those pharmaceutical companies, independent companies and subsidiaries notable enough to have their own articles in Wikipedia. Both going concerns and defunct firms are included, as well as firms that were part of the ...
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List of companies traded on the JSE
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List of companies of South Africa
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Economy of South Africa
The economy of South Africa is the largest economy in Africa. It is a mixed economy, emerging market, and upper-middle-income economy, and one of only eight such countries in Africa. The economy is the most industrialised, technologically advanc ...
References
Further reading
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{{Witwatersrand companies
1891 establishments in South Africa
Companies based in Johannesburg
Health care companies of South Africa
South African brands