Beecham Group
GlaxoSmithKline |
The Beecham Group plc was a
Beecham, after having merged with American pharmaceutical company SmithKline Beckman to become SmithKline Beecham, merged with Glaxo Wellcome to become
Early history
Beecham began as the family business of Thomas Beecham (1820–1907). (Beecham would become the grandfather of music conductor Thomas Beecham, 1879–1961.) As a boy, Beecham worked as a shepherd, selling herbal remedies as a sideline.
He later became a travelling salesman or
Expansion and diversification
In 1924, Philip Ernest Hill (1873 - 1944),[8][9] who made his money in real estate, acquired control of Beecham.[10] Under his leadership, the company bought up other companies for their various products and for their marketing infrastructure, acquiring the Lucozade glucose drink and Macleans (toothpaste) in 1938, and, at the same time, introducing the Ribena blackcurrant drink.[11] In 1938, it also bought the company selling Eno which had an extensive international presence.[10][12]: 253 By purchasing the company manufacturing Brylcreem the following year, the company added hair products for men to its offerings.[4]
In 1943, Beecham decided to focus more on improving research and built Beecham Research Laboratories at
Beecham Research Laboratories opened a four acre site around October 1969 in Harlow in Essex, with 80 staff.[13] In 1997 this became the SmithKline Beecham New Frontiers Science Park.
Antibiotics
In 1959, Brockham Park became famous when Beecham scientists there discovered the
The company continued to add products, and acquire other companies, through the 1970s and 1980s. In 1971, the S. E. Massengill Company was acquired. Beecham launched Amoxil (amoxicillin) in 1972, which went on to become one of the most widely prescribed antibiotics.[4]
In 1973,
Later history
In 1986, the Beecham Group sold its numerous soft drink brands including Tango, Top Deck, Corona, and Quosh, as well as the UK franchises for Pepsi and 7 Up, to Britvic.[18] The same year, Beecham acquired Norcliff Thayer from Revlon.
As the turn of the century approached, there were more significant mergers. In 1989, The Beecham Group plc and
A history of the company, Beechams, 1848–2000: From Pills to Pharmaceuticals, written by Thomas Anthony Buchanan Corley, was published in 2011.[21]
Products
Consumer healthcare
Pharmaceuticals
- Amoxil (amoxicillin)
- Augmentin (co-amoxiclav)
- Avandia (rosiglitazone)
- Bactroban (mupirocin)
- Broxil (pheneticillin)
- Celbenin (meticillin)
- clavulanic acid
- Eminase (anistreplase)
- Engerix-B (hepatitis B vaccine)
- Floxapen (flucloxacillin)
- granisetron
- Havrix (hepatitis A vaccine)
- Orbenin (cloxacillin)
- Paxil (paroxetine)
- Penbritin (ampicillin)
- Pollinex (extract of ragweed pollen)
- Pyopen (carbenicillin)
- Relifex (nabumetone)
- Temopen (temocillin)
- Ticarpen (ticarcillin)
- Timentin (clavulanate)
See also
References
- ^ "The man behind the eponymous Beechams Powders gets blue plaque". The Business Magazine. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ a b c "Anniversary of the first ad slogan". The Herald. 5 August 2019.
- ^ "Get powerful relief from cold & flu symptoms with Beechams". beechams.co.uk. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Our history – GSK". Retrieved 19 November 2016.
- ^ Thomas Beecham at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ a b "When Beecham put St Helens on the map". St Helen's Star. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
- ^ Ratcliffe, Susan (2011). Oxford Treasury of Sayings and Quotations. Oxford University Press. p. 478.
- ^ "A capsulated history of Beecham - Let's Look Again". 24 November 2017.
- ^ "Philip E. Hill".
- ^ ISBN 9781317663010.
- ^ "SmithKline Beecham: History" Archived 20 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine, History of Advertising Trust
- ISBN 9780674045187.
- ^ Herts and Essex Observer Friday 15 August 1969, page 12
- S2CID 4268993.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Carbonated drinks: a report on the supply by manufacturers of carbonated drinks in the United Kingdom, Chapter 8 para 8.51" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2008.
- ^ "Profile: SmithKline Beecham". BBC. 18 December 2000.
- ^ "The Glaxo SmithKline merger". BBC News. 17 January 2000.
- ISBN 978-1-905472-14-7.
- ^ "Beechams Powders - Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC)". Medicines.org. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
Beecham's Powders is a cold and flu remedy sold in the UK. The medicine is a white powder wrapped in a paper sachet. The powder is mixed with water and then drunk in suspension. The active ingredients are caffeine and aspirin, the effects of taking this remedy are the lowering of body temperature, reduction in aches and pains, along with a mild return of energy. This medicine is often used by people who need to continue working despite having a cold or mild flu.