GlaxoSmithKline

GlaxoWellcome

In 1880, Burroughs Wellcome & Company was founded in London by American pharmacists Henry Wellcome and Silas Burroughs. Wellcome Tropical Researches Laboratories was opened in 1902. McDougall & Robertson Inc. was bought by the Wellcome Company to be more active in animal health. Also, the production center was moved from New York to North Carolina in 1970 and the following year another research center was built.

Glaxo was founded in Bunnythorpe, New Zealand. Originally a baby food manufacturer processing local milk into an early baby food by the same name, which was sold in the 1930s under the slogan "Glaxo builds bonny babies". Still visible on the main street of Bunnythorpe is a derelict dairy factory (factory for drying and processing cows' milk into powder) with the original Glaxo logo clearly visible, but nothing to indicate that this was the start of a major multinational.

Glaxo became Glaxo Laboratories, and opened new units in London in 1935. Glaxo Laboratories bought two companies Joseph Nathan and Allen & Hanburys in 1947 and 1958 respectively. After it bought Meyer Laboratories, it started to play an important role in the US market. In 1983 the American arm Glaxo Inc. moved to Research Triangle Park (US headquarters/research) and Zebulon (US manufacturing) in North Carolina. To be stronger in the medicine market, Burroughs Wellcome and Glaxo, Inc merged in 1995. The new name of the company was GlaxoWellcome. In the same year, GlaxoWellcome opened their Medicine Research Centre in England.

'SmithKline Beecham' In 1843, Thomas Beecham launched his Beecham's Pills laxative in England. Beecham opened its first factory in England for rapid production of medicines in 1859. By the 1960s it was extensively involved in pharmaceuticals.

In 1830, John K. Smith opened its first pharmacy in Philadelphia. Over the years Smith, Kline and Company favorably amalgamated with the French, Richard and Company because of their successful management decisions. It changed its name to Smith Kline & French Laboratories to focus more on research in 1929. Years later, Smith Kline & French Laboratories opened a new laboratory in Philadelphia; furthermore, it bought a laboratory called Norden Laboratories which was doing research into animal health to benefit their research in various other areas.

In the 1960s, Smith Kline & French Laboratories attempted to grow through a series of mergers, beginning with the acquisition of Recherche et Industrie Thérapeutiques in 1963. Smith Kline & French Laboratories bought 7 more laboratories in Canada and US over the next six years. In 1982, it bought Allergan which was making products about eye and skin.

SmithKline continued to acquire competitors in the 1980s, beginning with Allergan, a pharmaceutical firm focused on skin and eye-care, for $260 million. In 1981, SmithKline purchased the medical instrument firm Beckman Instruments for $1 billion. Many analysts felt that this move was intended to diversify SmithKline and move them away from a dependence on Tagamet sales.[8] In 1988, SmithKline Beckman bought its biggest competitor, International Clinical Laboratories, and enlarged by 50%.

In 1989, SmithKline, which had been considered a potential take-over target for several larger firms, entered into their largest merger to date, with Beecham Plc, to form the second largest drug company in the world. The combined firm had nearly $7 billion in worldwide revenues. As part of the merger, SmithKline sold off Allergan and distributed its stake in Beckman to shareholders, Beecham sold of its cosmetic operations including: Yardley, Margaret Astor, and Lancaster.