COMPANY·HISTORIES
NAIC 325414

Biological Product (Except Diagnostic)

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

25companies1870–2003founding years25still active0no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedChr. Hansen Group A/S
1870
FoundedJohnson & Johnson
1887
FoundedPfizer Inc.
1900
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedAjinomoto Co., Inc.
1909
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedPLIVA d.d.
1921
FoundedTakeda Chemical Industries, Ltd.
1925
FoundedMerck & Co., Inc.
1927
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression spreads worldwide.
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedCJ Corporation
1953
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; currencies float.
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
FoundedGenentech, Inc.
1976
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher worldwide.
FoundedChiron CorporationFoundedGenzyme Corporation
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
FoundedAmersham PLC
1982
FoundedPure World, Inc.
1983
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedEmbrex, Inc.FoundedMartek Biosciences Corporation
1985
FoundedGilead Sciences, Inc.
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall sharply around the world.
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
FoundedSerologicals Corporation
1994
FoundedCaliper Life Sciences, Inc.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EconomyThe Asian financial crisis rattles global markets.
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2000
EconomyThe dot-com bubble bursts.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2008
EconomyThe global financial crisis freezes credit worldwide.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Chr. Hansen Group A/S →
Active · founded 1870 · Denmark
Chr.
Johnson & Johnson →
Active · founded 1887
One of America's most admired companies, Johnson & Johnson (J & J) is one of the largest healthcare firms in the world…
Pfizer Inc. →
Active · founded 1900
Pfizer Inc.
Eastman Kodak Company →
Active · founded 1901
A multinational corporation whose name and film products are familiar to photographers around the world, Eastman Kodak…
Ajinomoto Co., Inc. →
Active · founded 1909 · Japan
Ajinomoto Co., Inc., the world's first and still-largest producer of monosodium glutamate (MSG), is one of Japan's…
PLIVA d.d. →
Active · founded 1921 · Croatia
PLIVA d.d.
Takeda Chemical Industries, Ltd. →
Active · founded 1925 · Japan
Takeda Chemical Industries, Ltd.
Wyeth →
Active · founded 1926
Wyeth is a global pharmaceutical research and manufacturing company.
Merck & Co., Inc. →
Active · founded 1927
Merck & Co., Inc.
CJ Corporation →
Active · founded 1953 · South Korea
South Korea's largest food manufacturer, CJ Corporation, is also one of the world's leading producers of such food…
Sigma-Aldrich Corporation →
Active · founded 1975
Sigma-Aldrich Corporation is a developer, manufacturer, and distributor of a wide range of biochemicals, organic…
Genentech, Inc. →
Active · founded 1976
Genentech, Inc.
Chiron Corporation →
Active · founded 1981
Chiron Corporation is a leading biotechnology company focusing on cancer, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular…
Genzyme Corporation →
Active · founded 1981
Genzyme Corporation is a leading biotechnology company that focuses on five business areas: therapeutics, diagnostic…
Immunex Corporation →
Active · founded 1981
Immunex Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufacturers, and markets therapeutic products for…
Amersham PLC →
Active · founded 1982 · United Kingdom
Initially known as Amersham International PLC, Amersham PLC was formed in 1997 through the merger of Amersham…
Pure World, Inc. →
Active · founded 1983
Pure World, Inc., is a Bedminster, New Jersey-based company that operates through subsidiary Pure World Botanicals, Inc.
ImClone Systems Inc. →
Active · founded 1984
ImClone Systems Inc., a biotech company based in New York City, is best known for a highly publicized stock scandal…
Embrex, Inc. →
Active · founded 1985
Embrex, Inc., is a publicly traded agricultural biotechnology company based in Durham, North Carolina, and dedicated to…
Martek Biosciences Corporation →
Active · founded 1985
Martek Biosciences Corporation develops and sells products derived from the microalgae it grows.
Gilead Sciences, Inc. →
Active · founded 1987
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Invitrogen Corporation →
Active · founded 1989
Invitrogen Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets more than 10,000 products for customers involved in life…
Serologicals Corporation →
Active · founded 1994
Serologicals Corporation is a Norcross, Georgia, company that, on a global basis, provides biological products and…
Caliper Life Sciences, Inc. →
Active · founded 1995
Caliper Life Sciences, Inc.
Biogen Idec Inc. →
Active · founded 2003
Biogen Idec Inc., formed through the 2003 merger of Biogen Inc.
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