Pfizer Inc. History



Address:
235 East 42nd Street
New York, New York 10017-5755
U.S.A.

Telephone: (212) 573-2323
Fax: (212) 573-7851

Public Company
Incorporated: 1900 as Charles Pfizer & Company Inc.
Employees: 50,900
Sales: $27.3 billion (1999 pro forma)
Stock Exchanges: New York Boston Cincinnati Midwest Pacific Philadelphia London Paris Brussels Zurich Swiss
Ticker Symbol: PFE
NAIC: 325412 Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing; 325411 Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing; 325413 In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing; 325414 Biological Product (Except Diagnostic) Manufacturing; 325611 Soap and Other Detergent Manufacturing; 325620 Toilet Preparation Manufacturing; 541710 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences

Company Perspectives:

Our Mission: We will achieve and sustain our place as the world's premier research-based health care company. Our continuing success as a business will benefit patients and our customers, our shareholders, our families, and the communities in which we operate around the world. Key Dates:

Key Dates:

1772:
Henry Nock founds the business that eventually becomes Wilkinson Sword.
1849:
Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart found Charles Pfizer & Company.
1866:
Parke-Davis is founded in Detroit by Hervey C. Parke and George S. Davis.

1870s:Dr. Joseph Lawrence develops the original formula for Listerine.
1877:
Wilkinson Sword begins making straight razors.
1881:
Lawrence sells his formula to Jordan Wheat Lambert, who founds Lambert Pharmacal Company.
1886:
William R. Warner founds William R. Warner & Company.
1899:
Several major U.S. gum producers merge to form American Chicle.
1900:
Charles Pfizer & Company Inc. is incorporated in New Jersey.
1916:
Warner & Co. acquires Richard Hudnut Company, a cosmetics firm.
1921:
Colonel Jacob Schick invents the Magazine Repeating Razor, forerunner of the Schick Injector razor.
1942:
Pfizer goes public.
1944:
Pfizer begins mass production of penicillin, primarily for the war effort.
1950:
Pfizer launches Terramycin, an antibiotic; Warner & Co. is renamed Warner-Hudnut, Inc.
1955:
Warner-Hudnut merges with Lambert Pharmacal to form Warner-Lambert Company.
1962:
Warner-Lambert acquires American Chicle.
1970:
Charles Pfizer & Company is renamed Pfizer Inc.; Warner-Lambert acquires Schick and Parke, Davis.
1984:
Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is founded.
1989:
Pfizer launches Procardia XL.
1992:
Pfizer launches Novasc, Zoloft, and Zithromax.
1993:
Warner-Lambert acquires Wilkinson Sword.
1995:
Pfizer acquires the animal health unit of SmithKline Beecham.
1997:
Warner-Lambert launches Lipitor through a marketing alliance with Pfizer.
1998:
Pfizer divests its Medical Technology Group; Pfizer launches Viagra.
1999:
Pfizer begins comarketing Celebrex; Warner-Lambert acquires Agouron Pharmaceuticals.
2000:
Pfizer acquires Warner-Lambert.

Company History:

Further Reading:

  • Alger, Alexandra, 'Viagra Falls,' Forbes, February 7, 2000, pp. 130--32.
  • Barrett, Amy, 'The Formula at Pfizer: Don't Run with the Crowd,' Business Week, May 11, 1998, pp. 96--97.
  • Baum, Laurie, 'A Powerful Tonic for Warner-Lambert,' Business Week, November 30, 1987, pp. 144, 146.
  • Benway, Susan Duffy, 'Just What the Doctor Ordered: `Restructuring' Revives Warner Lambert,' Barron's, December 30, 1985, pp. 35+.
  • Bradford, Stacey L., 'Sweet Dreams: Gum and Mints May Help Warner-Lambert Become a Bigger Success in Drugs,' Financial World, October 21, 1996, pp. 44--45.
  • Byrne, Harlan S., 'Warner-Lambert: On the Mend,' Barron's, January 2, 1995, pp. 19--20.
  • Campanella, Frank W., 'Healthy Turnaround: Warner-Lambert Is Poised for an Earnings Recovery,' Barron's, February 1, 1982, pp. 35+.
  • Davenport, Caroline H., 'Glowing Prospects: New Products Will Keep Pfizer Growing at a Healthy Clip,' Barron's, December 22, 1980.
  • 'Did Warner-Lambert Make a `$468 Million Mistake'?,' Business Week, November 21, 1983, pp. 123+.
  • Gibson, W. David, 'R & D = Rx for Growth: That's Warner-Lambert's New Corporate Formula,' Barron's, February 20, 1984, pp. 13+.
  • Hayes, John R., 'Pill Selling 101,' Forbes, November 21, 1994, p. 64.
  • Hensley, Scott, 'Pfizer Appoints McKinnell to Top Posts,' Wall Street Journal, August 11, 2000, p. B10.
  • LaBell, Fran, 'Fat Extenders in Salad Dressings,' Food Processing, May 1992, p. 64.
  • Langreth, Robert, 'Behind Pfizer's Takeover Battle: An Urgent Need,' Wall Street Journal, February 8, 2000, p. B1.
  • ------, 'Pfizer's Warner-Lambert Purchase Contains Big Prize: Pipeline of Biotechnology Unit Agouron Is Stuffed with Potential Blockbusters,' Wall Street Journal, April 24, 2000, p. B4.
  • ------, 'Pfizer, Warner-Lambert Agree on Terms,' Wall Street Journal, February 7, 2000, p. A3.
  • Langreth, Robert, and Waldholz, Michael, 'Pfizer Pins Multibillion-Dollar Hopes on Impotence Pill,' Wall Street Journal, March 19, 1998, p. B1.
  • Loynd, Harry J., Parke-Davis: The Never-Ending Search for Better Medicines, New York: Newcomen Society in North America, 1957.
  • Lubove, Seth, 'Failure Focuses the Mind,' Forbes, November 8, 1993, pp. 76--78.
  • Mahar, Maggie, 'Legal Heartbreak?: Pfizer Faces Huge Liability If It Loses a Key Lawsuit,' Barron's, April 2, 1990, pp. 8+.
  • Mines, Samuel, Pfizer: An Informal History, New York: Pfizer, 1978.
  • O'Reilly, Brian, 'The Pills That Saved Warner-Lambert,' Fortune, October 13, 1997, pp. 94--95.
  • 'Pfizer: Counting on `Spare Parts' to Keep Up Its Momentum,' Business Week, January 9, 1984, pp. 109+.
  • 'Pfizer Joins with Other Drug Makers on Price Control,' Chemical Marketing Reporter, February 1, 1993, p. 7.
  • 'Pfizer Wins U.S. FDA Approval for Norvasc,' European Chemical News, August 17, 1992, p. 23.
  • Pratt, Edmund T., Jr., Pfizer: Bringing Science to Life, New York: Newcomen Society of the United States, 1985.
  • Rodengen, Jeffrey L., The Legend of Pfizer, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.: Write Stuff Syndicate, 1999.
  • Roman, Monica, 'Pfizer Finally Sees Its Payoff,' Business Week, July 1, 1991, pp. 86+.
  • ------, 'Pfizer's Pipeline Is Full, But Will the Drugs Flow Fast Enough?,' Business Week, September 11, 1989, pp. 74+.
  • Rundle, Rhonda L., and Waldholz, Michael, 'Warner-Lambert Agrees to Buy Agouron,' Wall Street Journal, January 27, 1999, p. A3.
  • Schroeder, Michael, 'Heart Trouble at Pfizer,' Business Week, February 26, 1990, pp. 47+.
  • Starr, Cynthia, 'First-Ever Alzheimer's Drug Brings Some Hope to Millions,' Drug Topics, October 11, 1993, pp. 16--18.
  • Stipp, David, 'Why Pfizer Is So Hot,' Fortune, May 11, 1998, pp. 88--90, 92, 94.
  • Tanner, Ogden, Twenty-Five Years of Innovation: The Story of Pfizer Central Research, Lyme, Conn.: Greenwich Publishing, 1996.
  • 'Turning Warner-Lambert into a Marketing Conglomerate,' Business Week, March 5, 1979, p. 60.
  • 'Warner-Lambert: Reversing Direction to Correct Neglect,' Business Week, June 15, 1981, pp. 65+.
  • Weber, Joseph, 'Curing Warner-Lambert--Before It Gets Sick,' Business Week, December 9, 1991, pp. 91, 94.
  • Weber, Joseph, et al., 'The New Era of Lifestyle Drugs,' Business Week, May 11, 1998, pp. 92+.
  • Zipser, Andy, 'Beyond Shiley: A Vote for Pfizer,' Barron's, May 27, 1991, pp. 28+.

Source: International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 38. St. James Press, 2001.

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