Pfizer History

The Birth of Pfizer at Folkestone
The Birth of Pfizer at Sandwich
Growth at Sandwich
Diversification
Return to Core Business
Growth of the research division
More R&D success
The "New" Pfizer

The Birth of Pfizer at Folkestone

Pfizer made its reputation in America as a bulk chemical manufacturer and enjoyed early success in mass-producing penicillin. However, it was the discovery of the broad-spectrum anti-biotic TERRAMYCIN? (oxytetracycline) in 1949 that transformed Pfizer into an international pharmaceutical company.

Despite great demand for this medicine, it had to be imported to the UK from America. This involved many bureaucratic and physical obstacles with all supplies being controlled by the government.

The answer came with an agreement to spend available currency on imported bulk TERRAMYCIN? for conversion locally into the dosage form. Pfizer at Folkestone was born in Autumn 1952 with a new compounding operation.

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The Birth of Pfizer at Sandwich The British government continued to restrict bulk imports of TERRAMYCIN? and furthermore it would not allow any increase in sales unless the product was fully manufactured in Britain. Setting up a manufacturing plant in the UK was fraught with risk but management were reluctant to entrust the world-beating TERRAMYCIN? to other firms in licence agreement. In 1954, after hearing a sermon themed ?Do it yourself? at a London church, Pfizer Senior Vice-President John Davenport decided to take the plunge and began searching for a site near Folkstone. An 80-acre site of low-lying ground, roofless buildings, overgrown railway tracks and rusting dock installations on the River Stour seemed an ideal location. Although now derelict, it was believed to have been part of the historic Saxon port of Stonar, becoming a twentieth century junction for trains, tugboats and barges known as Sandwich Haven. Pfizer at Sandwich was born.

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Growth at Sandwich The size of the Sandwich operation grew throughout the 1950s with TERRAMYCIN? being followed by TETRACYN? in 1955. An Animal-feed plant was set up in 1955 and a small Agricultural Division in 1957. With restrictions on access to the marketplace being lifted in 1955, Pfizer formed a new sales force and entered the over the counter market with products such as the indigestion aid Daxaid. Rapid expansion continued with new prescription medicines for mental health and diabetes and the acquisition of chemicals manufacturers Kemball Bishop & Company Limited. This, combined with Dick Fenton?s new post, heading up European operations from Britain in 1956, gave Pfizer Ltd virtual autonomy from its American parent. By 1960, the company employed over 2,000 staff and 300 were moved from Folkestone into new offices at Sandwich. The 1950s had been extraordinary years with a single discovery, TERRAMYCIN?, making Pfizer an international pharmaceutical company.

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Diversification During the 1960's Pfizer at Sandwich continued to develop and diversify with the substantial West Site being purchased for expansion in 1964. Diversification became attractive to reduce dependence on a single product and by 1963 Pfizer consisted of Pharmaceutical, Chemicals, Consumer, Agricultural and Research divisions. Acquisitions of the perfume and cosmetics firm Coty, followed by the door-to-door perfume selling operation Romney, boosted the Consumer Division. By 1964 Pfizer had also acquired TCP manufacturers British Alkaloids and the Bridge Colour Works near Manchester. In 1966 the TERRAMYCIN? patent expired and ICI entered the market with a cheaper alternative. Pfizer was now at the most diversified point in its history, an industrial and retail conglomerate that stretched from pills to perfume, and petrochemicals to pet products.

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Return to Core Business From its vast diversified structure of the late 1960's, Pfizer began to focus more on its core business in the 1970s. The colour works and the old Kemball Bishop plants were shut down and Coty was licensed out. In 1971, Pfizer Central Research was created to discover new products for pharmaceutical, chemical and agricultural operations worldwide. This reduced autonomy by making links with New York that much closer. By the end of the 1970s, the facility made up the largest research operation of any American pharmaceutical company outside of the United States.

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Growth of the research division FELDENE? (piroxicam), a single daily dose anti-rheumatic medicine developed in conjunction with Groton in the USA, was launched in January 1980. It is still regarded as one of the most welcomed new medicines in recent times, so much so that manufacturing and field force teams found it hard to keep up with demand. FELDENE? propelled Pfizer from number 19 to number 12 in the UK pharmaceutical company rankings, accounting for nearly half of all the company?s pharmaceutical sales by the end of 1982. The Research division continued to grow with Stage 3 of the Research block being opened in 1984 and by that time it had synthesised over 60,000 compounds. By 1988, Sandwich discovered once-daily oral antifungal DIFLUCAN? (fluconazole), followed by CARDURA? (doxazosin) for the treatment of hypertension in 1989. The marketing department therefore grew and a new field force, Invicta, was created to inform healthcare professionals about CARDURA?. By the end of the 1980s, the Research Division was three times bigger than it had been at the beginning of the decade.

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More R&D success The run of Sandwich discoveries continued to come onto the market. ISTIN? (amlodipine), a single daily dose for the relief of angina and hypertension, was launched in the UK before anywhere else in the world. It involved an unprecedented clinical trials programme of over 3,000 people. Outside Research, the Pharmaceutical Division set up the Richborough marketing division for ZITHROMAX? (azithromycin), an antibiotic for treating respiratory-tract infections and sexually transmitted infections. By early 1992, Pfizer Limited had brought more new medicines to UK patients in a three year period than any other pharmaceutical company in Britain. Although the company had established itself in the field of antibiotics, these now accounted for only 15% of the portfolio.

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The ?New? Pfizer In June 2000, Pfizer Inc merged with Warner Lambert to create the ?new? Pfizer. This made Pfizer Limited a market leader in Consumer Healthcare, with key brands such as BENYLIN®, LISTERINE®, CALPOL®, BENADRYL® and MIGRALEVE® in the Pfizer portfolio. In 2001 Pfizer in the UK generated sales in excess of £450 million. In 2003 Pfizer was awarded the Over The Counter (OTC) company of the year in the OTC Marketing awards 2003. During April 2003, Pfizer and Pharmacia combined operations, bringing together two of the world?s fastest-growing and most innovative companies. This made Pfizer Limited the largest pharmaceutical company in the UK and the number one supplier of medicines to the NHS. This coming together has broadened the areas in which we work and added many new and valued dimensions to the ?new? Pfizer. More than ever we have the opportunity to help more people globally attain good health and a better quality of life.

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