Upjohn

Upjohn

The Upjohn Company was a pharmaceutical manufacturing firm founded in 1886 in Kalamazoo, Michigan by Dr. William E. Upjohn, an 1875 graduate of the University of Michigan medical school. The company was originally formed to make "friable pills", which were specifically designed to be easily digested. [ [http://www.kpl.gov/collections/LocalHistory/AllAbout/biography/Upjohn.aspx Kalamazoo Public Library - Local History - William E. Upjohn: Person of the Century 1853 - 1932 ] ] These could be "reduced to a powder under the thumb", a strong marketing argument for the time.

In 1995, Upjohn merged with Pharmacia AB, to form Pharmacia & Upjohn. [ [http://informagen.com/Resource_Informagen/report.php?mrn=112 Resource Informagen Closed ] ] Later the company merged with Monsanto and took the name Pharmacia; the company retained Monsanto's Searle drug unit and spun off the remaining interests, which became the "new Monsanto". Today the remainder of Upjohn is owned by Pfizer. Kalamazoo county retains major manufacturing capabilities as well as a large stake in Pfizer's animal health business.

Chemistry

In chemical research, the company is best known for the development of the Upjohn dihydroxylation by V. VanRheenen, R. C. Kelly and D. Y. Cha in 1976. [V. VanRheenen, R. C. Kelly and D. Y. Cha "Tetrahedron Lett." 1976, 1973-1976. (DOI|10.1016/S0040-4039(00)78093-2)]

Upjohn research is best known for the process that made possible large scale production of cortisone. The oxygen atom at the 11 position in this steroid is an absolute requirement for biological activity. There are however no known natural sources for starting materials that contain that feature. The only method for preparing this drug prior to 1952 was a lengthy synthesis starting from cholic acid isolated from bile. In 1952 two Upjohn biochemists, Dury Peterson and Herb Murray announced that they were able to introduce this crucial oxygen atom by fermentation of the steroid progesterone with the mold "Aspergillus nigercans". Over the next several years a group of chemists headed by John Hogg developed a process for preparing cortisone from the soybean steroid stigmasterol. The microbiological oxygenation is a key step in this process.

Upjohn is also well known for manufacturing Xanax, Motrin, and Rogaine.

ee also

* W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research

References


* "Upjohn Co. v. United States" (449 U.S. 383) (1981)

External links

*http://www.michmarkers.com/startup.asp?startpage=S0582.htm


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Upjohn — Recorded as Apjohn and Upjohn, this is an Anglo Welsh surname. It is one which owes its origins to a combination of Welsh and the activities of the Knight Templars of the 12th century. It is a developed form of the biblical name Yochan introduced …   Surnames reference

  • Upjohn — noun United States architect (born in England) (1802 1878) • Syn: ↑Richard Upjohn • Instance Hypernyms: ↑architect, ↑designer …   Useful english dictionary

  • Upjohn dihydroxylation — is an organic reaction converting an alkene to a cis vicinal diol, and was developed by V. VanRheenen, R. C. Kelly and D. Y. Cha of the Upjohn Company, USA in 1976. [V. VanRheenen, R. C. Kelly and D. Y. Cha Tetrahedron Lett. 1976, 1973 1976.… …   Wikipedia

  • Upjohn warning — USA Upjohn warning, Also known as a corporate Miranda warning. The notice an in house attorney gives a company employee to inform him that the attorney represents only the company and not the employee as an individual. Corporate counsel caution… …   Law dictionary

  • Upjohn, Richard — ▪ American architect born Jan. 22, 1802, Shaftesbury, Dorset, Eng. died Aug. 17, 1878, Garrison, N.Y., U.S.  British American architect who was the most active exponent in his time of the Gothic Revival style in ecclesiastical architecture.… …   Universalium

  • Upjohn v. United States — SCOTUSCase Litigants=Upjohn v. United States ArgueDate=November 5 ArgueYear=1980 DecideDate=January 13 DecideYear=1981 FullName=Upjohn Company, et al. v. United States, et al. USVol=449 USPage=383 Citation=101 S. Ct. 677; 66 L. Ed. 2d 584; 1981 U …   Wikipedia

  • Upjohn-Dihydroxylierung — Schema einer Dihydroxylierung Die Dihydroxylierung bezeichnet eine Chemische Reaktion, mit der an die Doppelbindung eines Alkens zwei vicinalen Hydroxygruppen addiert werden. Da sich die Oxidationszahl der Kohlenstoffatome dabei erhöht, handelt… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Upjohn — biographical name Richard 1802 1878 American (English born) architect …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Upjohn — /up jon /, n. Richard, 1802 78, and his son, Richard Michell /mi shel /, 1828 1903, U.S. architects, born in England. * * * …   Universalium

  • Upjohn,Richard — Up·john (ŭpʹjŏn ), Richard. 1802 1878. British born American architect who was a leader of the Gothic revival. His designs include Trinity Church in New York City (1846). * * * …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”