The Upjohn Company was an American pharmaceutical manufacturing firm (est. 1886) in

Hastings, Michigan Hastings is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, the county seat of Barry County as well as the county's only city. The population was 7,350 at the 2010 census. The city borders Hastings Charter Township on the north, east, and south, and R ...

, by Dr. William E. Upjohn, a 1875 graduate of the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

medical school. The company was originally formed to make ''friable pills'', specifically designed to crush easily, and thus be easier for patients to digest. Upjohn initially marketed the pills to doctors by sending them a wooden plank along with a rival’s pill and one of Upjohn’s, with instructions to try to hammer the pills into the plank.

History

Upjohn developed a process for the large scale production of

cortisone Cortisone is a pregnene (21-carbon) steroid hormone. It is a naturally-occurring corticosteroid metabolite that is also used as a pharmaceutical prodrug; it is not synthesized in the adrenal glands. Cortisol is converted by the action of the ...

. The oxygen atom group must be in position 11 for this steroid to function. There are, however, no known natural starting materials with an oxo-group in position 11. The only method for preparing cortisone prior to 1952 was a lengthy synthesis, starting from

cholic acid Cholic acid, also known as 3α,7α,12α-trihydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oic acid is a primary bile acid that is insoluble in water (soluble in alcohol and acetic acid), it is a white crystalline substance. Salts of cholic acid are called cholates. Chol ...

isolated from bile. In 1952, two Upjohn biochemists, Dury Peterson and Herb Murray, announced that they had invented a new method by fermenting the steroid

progesterone Progesterone (P4) is an endogenous steroid and progestogen sex hormone involved in the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and embryogenesis of humans and other species. It belongs to a group of steroid hormones called the progestogens and is the ma ...

with a common mold of the genus

Rhizopus ''Rhizopus'' is a genus of common saprophytic fungi on plants and specialized parasites on animals. They are found in a wide variety of organic substances, including "mature fruits and vegetables", jellies, syrups, leather, bread, peanuts, and ...

. Over the next several years, a group of chemists headed by John Hogg developed a process for preparing cortisone from the soybean sterol

stigmasterol Stigmasterol – a plant sterol (''phytosterol'') – is among the most abundant of plant sterols, having a major function to maintain the structure and physiology of cell membranes. In the European Union, it is a food additive listed with E num ...

. The microbiological oxygenation invented by Peterson and Murry is a key step in this process. Subsequently, Upjohn (together with Schering) biochemically converted cortisone into the more potent

steroid A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and ...

prednisone Prednisone is a glucocorticoid medication mostly used to suppress the immune system and decrease inflammation in conditions such as asthma, COPD, and rheumatologic diseases. It is also used to treat high blood calcium due to cancer and adren ...

via bacterial fermentation. In chemical research, the company is known for the development of the

Upjohn dihydroxylation The Upjohn dihydroxylation is an organic reaction which converts an alkene to a ''cis'' vicinal diol. It was developed by V. VanRheenen, R. C. Kelly and D. Y. Cha of the Upjohn Company in 1976. It is a catalytic system using ''N''-methylmorph ...

by V. VanRheenen, R. C. Kelly, and D. Y. Cha in 1976. Upjohn's best known drugs before its acquisition by Pfizer were

Xanax Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax, among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of medium duration in the triazolobenzodiazepine (TBZD) class, which are benzodiazepines (BZDs) fused with a triazole ring. It is most commonl ...

, Halcion,

Motrin Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is used for treating pain, fever, and inflammation. This includes painful menstrual periods, migraines, and rheumatoid arthritis. It may also be used to close a patent ductus arte ...

, Lincocin, and Rogaine. In 1995, Upjohn merged with

Pharmacia Pharmacia was a pharmaceutical and biotechnological company in Sweden that merged with the American pharmaceutical company Upjohn in 1995. History Pharmacia company was founded in 1911 in Stockholm, Sweden by pharmacist Gustav Felix Grönf ...

AB to form

Pharmacia & Upjohn 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 company is owned by Pfizer. In 1997, Pharmacia & Upjohn sold several bran ...

. The company was owned by

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfize ...

from 2002 until 2020. In 2015, Pfizer resurrected the Upjohn brand name for a division which manufactures and licenses drugs with patents that have expired. Pfizer planned to divest itself of this business in 2020. In July 2019, Pfizer announced plans to merge Upjohn with

Mylan Mylan N.V. was a global generic and specialty pharmaceuticals company. In November 2020, Mylan merged with Upjohn, Pfizer's off-patent medicine division, to form Viatris. Previously, the company was domiciled in the Netherlands, with princip ...

. The merger was expected to close in the first half of 2020, was delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, and finally completed in November 2020. The resultant entity was named

Viatris Viatris Inc. is an American global pharmaceutical and healthcare corporation headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. The corporation was formed through the merger of Mylan and Upjohn, a legacy division of Pfizer, on November 16, 2020. The nam ...

References

External links

Memories of The Upjohn Company
* {{Authority control 1886 establishments in Michigan 1995 disestablishments in Michigan 1995 mergers and acquisitions Companies based in Kalamazoo, Michigan Pharmaceutical companies established in 1886 Pharmaceutical companies disestablished in 1995 Defunct pharmaceutical companies of the United States Pfizer Life sciences industry

History

See also

References

External links