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Marion Merrell Dow
Marion Merrell Dow and its predecessor Marion Laboratories was a U.S. pharmaceutical company based in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1950 until 1996.
The company specialized in bringing to market drugs that had been discovered but unmarketed by other companies including Cardizem which treats arrhythmias and high blood pressure, Carafate (an ulcer treatment), Gaviscon (an antacid), Seldane (a withdrawn antihistamine), Nicorette (anti-smoking gum) and Cepacol mouthwash.
The company operating out of its headquarters at 9300 Ward Parkway was a springboard for its founder Ewing Marion Kauffman to start the Kansas City Royals baseball team.
The company traces its roots back to 1828 when William S. Merrell opened the Western Market Drug Store at Sixth Street and Western Row (now Central Avenue) in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Merrell expanded into the wholesale drug business. Following his death in 1880 his sons formed the William S. Merrell Chemical Company.
In the 1930s, it merged with a company started by Lunsford Richardson to become Richardson-Merrell. Richardson's most notable product was Vicks VapoRub.
In 1958, Richardson-Merrell acquired the English company Milton Antiseptic Ltd.
A team at William S. Merrell Chemical Company led by Frank Palopoli synthesized clomifene in 1956 (to stimulate ovulation); after its biological activity was confirmed a patent was filed and issued in November 1959. Scientists at Merrell had previously synthesized chlorotrianisene and ethamoxytriphetol.
One of Richardson-Merrell's best-known incidents revolved around its efforts to introduce thalidomide into the US market in the 1950s and 1960s under the brand name "Kevadon". The drug was already highly popular in Europe as a sedative and antiemetic for elderly patients. Although neither tested nor approved for use during pregnancy, its effectiveness and absence of significant side-effects led many physicians to prescribe it to pregnant women. Richardson-Merrell submitted their new drug application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on September 8, 1960. During the application process, Richardson-Merrell asked the FDA for quick approval of the drug, and distributed 2.5 million tablets of thalidomide to 1,200 American doctors with the understanding that the drug was under investigation, a preemptive marketing strategy that was permissible at the time under existing regulations. Nearly 20,000 patients received the drug. Reviewing pharmacologist Frances Oldham Kelsey, who had joined the FDA just a month before the application's arrival, repeatedly denied the company's requests for permission to market the drug, citing an insufficient number of controlled studies to establish risks. When studies revealed that 10,000 children worldwide had been born with severe birth defects from the drug, Merrell withdrew its application and recalled the remaining unconsumed tablets from doctors offices around the country. Ultimately, 17 children in the United States were born with defects. For correctly denying the application despite the pressure from Richardson-Merrell, Kelsey eventually received the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service at a 1962 ceremony with President John F. Kennedy.
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Marion Merrell Dow
Marion Merrell Dow and its predecessor Marion Laboratories was a U.S. pharmaceutical company based in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1950 until 1996.
The company specialized in bringing to market drugs that had been discovered but unmarketed by other companies including Cardizem which treats arrhythmias and high blood pressure, Carafate (an ulcer treatment), Gaviscon (an antacid), Seldane (a withdrawn antihistamine), Nicorette (anti-smoking gum) and Cepacol mouthwash.
The company operating out of its headquarters at 9300 Ward Parkway was a springboard for its founder Ewing Marion Kauffman to start the Kansas City Royals baseball team.
The company traces its roots back to 1828 when William S. Merrell opened the Western Market Drug Store at Sixth Street and Western Row (now Central Avenue) in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Merrell expanded into the wholesale drug business. Following his death in 1880 his sons formed the William S. Merrell Chemical Company.
In the 1930s, it merged with a company started by Lunsford Richardson to become Richardson-Merrell. Richardson's most notable product was Vicks VapoRub.
In 1958, Richardson-Merrell acquired the English company Milton Antiseptic Ltd.
A team at William S. Merrell Chemical Company led by Frank Palopoli synthesized clomifene in 1956 (to stimulate ovulation); after its biological activity was confirmed a patent was filed and issued in November 1959. Scientists at Merrell had previously synthesized chlorotrianisene and ethamoxytriphetol.
One of Richardson-Merrell's best-known incidents revolved around its efforts to introduce thalidomide into the US market in the 1950s and 1960s under the brand name "Kevadon". The drug was already highly popular in Europe as a sedative and antiemetic for elderly patients. Although neither tested nor approved for use during pregnancy, its effectiveness and absence of significant side-effects led many physicians to prescribe it to pregnant women. Richardson-Merrell submitted their new drug application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on September 8, 1960. During the application process, Richardson-Merrell asked the FDA for quick approval of the drug, and distributed 2.5 million tablets of thalidomide to 1,200 American doctors with the understanding that the drug was under investigation, a preemptive marketing strategy that was permissible at the time under existing regulations. Nearly 20,000 patients received the drug. Reviewing pharmacologist Frances Oldham Kelsey, who had joined the FDA just a month before the application's arrival, repeatedly denied the company's requests for permission to market the drug, citing an insufficient number of controlled studies to establish risks. When studies revealed that 10,000 children worldwide had been born with severe birth defects from the drug, Merrell withdrew its application and recalled the remaining unconsumed tablets from doctors offices around the country. Ultimately, 17 children in the United States were born with defects. For correctly denying the application despite the pressure from Richardson-Merrell, Kelsey eventually received the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service at a 1962 ceremony with President John F. Kennedy.