History of Pfizer

Two cousins, Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, formed Pfizer in 1849 after they arrived in Brooklyn from Germany.

At first the venture was a small chemical manufacturer, but it achieved early success after developing a way to improve the palatability of a treatment for parasitic worms. After its discovery of Terramycin in 1950 Pfizer became a research-based pharmaceutical company.

Through the latter half of the 19th century citric acid - made from lemons, limes and oranges and used in soft drinks and cleaning fluids – became Pfizer’s central product.

For decades, citric acid was the company’s most popular product, but when the availability of the ingredients needed to make the product slowed during WWI, Pfizer was forced to find new supply sources. It did so after years of experimenting with fermentation, a process that eventually enabled Pfizer to produce penicillin on a large scale basis, as it did during WWII.

Pfizer’s first medicinal was a reformulation of santonin, an extract of Levant Wormseed, used as an anti-parasitic to treat intestinal worms.

Erhart, a confectioner, blended bitter-tasting santonin with almond-toffee flavoring, shaping it into a candy cone for palatabultiy and ’new santonin’ became a success for the company.

In 1998 the company launched Viagra, a novel erectile dysfunction drug that has become a $1 billion plus a year blockbuster and is often viewed as one of the most shrewdly marketed drugs of all time.

By 1999 it was among the world’s top producers of over-the-counter medicines and the leading producer of fish food and aquarium products.

In order to expand and strengthen its business, Pfizer has made numerous acquisitions, including Warner-Lambert in 2000, Pharmacia in 2003 and Wyeth in 2009.
History of Pfizer