S. E. Massengill Company

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

S. E. Massengill Company was a

Prestige Brands
, now known as Prestige Consumer Healthcare.

Elixir sulfanilamide scandal

The company was responsible for the elixir sulfanilamide disaster of 1937, described as one of the most consequential mass poisonings of the 20th century.[2] Elixir sulfanilamide was formulated with diethylene glycol as a solvent. The company claimed to have been unaware of the toxicity of diethylene glycol, despite the existence of published studies describing its dangerous properties. The elixir was released with no safety testing, leading to the deaths of at least one hundred people in fifteen states. The resulting scandal led to the passage of the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.[1]

Mergers and acquisitions

Massengill continued to operate as a family-owned pharmaceutical firm until it was acquired in 1971 by

GlaxoSmithKline.[3]

On December 20, 2011, Massengill was sold to

Prestige Brands for £426 million ($660 million).[4]

See also

References