Friedrich Jakob Merck / "Merck&Co."

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Usually say, that company Merck - one of leaders of the world pharmaceutical market. In a reality of the companies with such name not one, and two. Both take leading positions in the pharmaceutical market, both are proud past, both consider as the founder of the same person, both thus underline, that, except name Merck, between them nowadays there is nothing the general.

Usually say, that company Merck - one of leaders of the world pharmaceutical market. In a reality of the companies with such name not one, and two. Both take leading positions in the pharmaceutical market, both are proud past, both consider as the founder of the same person, both thus underline, that, except name Merck, between them nowadays there is nothing the general.

Middle ÕVII of century in Europe was fertile time for doctors and druggists. Europe expanded commercial relations with the far countries, and it had the big consequences for medicine - thousand travellers brought from exotic China, Siam, the countries of Africa new illnesses and new medicines for their treatment.

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Firm "Grew dim" history originates in 17 century when in 1668 47-year-old druggist Fridrih Jacob Grew dim has got in Darmstadt a drugstore "Engel". After Fridriha Jacob's death the drugstore has passed to its nephew, and then four generations was successively passed from the father to the son in the primordial form while at last in 1816 has not got pravnuchatomu to nephew Fridriha Jacob - Emmanuelju, to the first of Merkov whom narrow frameworks of a small family drugstore any more did not satisfy.

Emmanuel Grew dim has got the best on those times chemical education in Germany and in France. Having returned to native Darmstadt, it began to give more attention of chemical laboratory, constantly improving the skills in allocation, clearing and the analysis vegetative alkaloidov.

The chemist's laboratory in development extended and transformed to himiko-pharmaceutical factory where along with raw materials for manufacturing of medicines, the set of other high-quality chemical substances was made, and since 1900 and ready medical preparations. In 1860 it has been made already more than 800, and in 1900 about 10 000 names of various production. From the basis of firm the attention was given not only to expansion of names of let out production, but also cleanliness of preparations. In the middle of 19th century, thanks to the successful development, the company began to be guided not only on internal, but also by the international market.

In 1888 have gone on sale «it is guaranteed pure reactants» from "Measure", in 1899 for the first time there was a list of the prices for photochemicals, and in 1904 - on medical preparations. At that time along with numerous representations abroad, the firm already had the big branches in London, New York and Moscow.

The end to well-being of international company E. Merck the First World War has put. On a wave of the Antigerman hysteria Americans have ceased to listen to Beethoven and have renamed hamburgers in «selisberijskie stakes», and the certificate signed in 1915 about annexation of the foreign property has allowed the government of the USA to deprive German company E. Merck the property rights to 80 % of actions Merck and Co. And to start up these actions in open sale. To George Merku who already became by then the citizen of the USA by name of George Merk, it was necessary to find urgently $3,75 million to redeem them. Fortunately for it, money managed to be found, both Merck and Co. Remained in family hands.

Since then E. Merck and Merck and Co. Began to develop independently from each other. The American company has carried little bit more. Son George Merka - George Merk Jr. was going to to become the scientist-chemist. The father has asked to wait for it couple of months, while war will end to continue training at the European universities, for now to work on the company. War has lasted more than four years, and younger Grew dim remained in the company for 42 years and has transformed the enterprise of the ancestors into the largest pharmaceutical concern of the world.

In 1925 when George Merk Jr. has headed the company, American Merck already was the largest private manufacturer of chemical substances all over the world, annually selling various products of thin synthesis for the sum $10 million By the moment of death of George in 1957 Merck and Co. Has turned to the open joint-stock company with a turn more than $200 million for which employees some Nobel Prizes on medicine were registered: in 1952 the winner became Selman Vaksman, the opened streptomycin, and in 1950 award have received Edward Kendall, Tadeush Rejhshtejn and Filip Hench for synthesis kortizona.

Under the guidance of Vadzhelosa Merck and Co. Seven years on end - with 1987 for 1993 headed the American list of the most dear companies. In the mid-nineties Merck and Co. There was the indisputable leader in the pharmaceutical world, the company number one on a sales volume, profit, a total cost and qualification of the working personnel.

In the mid-nineties annual sales volume Merck and Co. Made an order of $3 mlrd, profits reached $500 million a year. In the company 28 000 persons worked, annual expenses for working out of new preparations made 20 % of profit. More than thousand scientists worked in six laboratories in America and four in Europe. The companies belonged 24 factories in territory of the USA (including one in Puerto Rico) and 44 factories worldwide.

And in the meantime in Europe company E. Merck continued the activity as one of the largest chemical companies of Germany. E. Merck also it was possible to make set of the largest opening in the field of pharmaceutical chemistry. In 1904 scientists E. Merck the first synthesised liquid crystals, in 1927 company in laboratories vitamin D has been allocated, and in 1934 first commercially successful industrial synthesis of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is spent. E. Merck it has appeared among pioneers of the market it is artificial the synthesised vitamins. Vitamins Â1, E, the soluble form of vitamin K - all these substances were successfully made at factory in Darmstadt.

At the same time active workers of struggle against drugs cannot excuse till now the company of that it stood at sources of working out of many narcotic substances. Besides morfina with which industrial activity Emmanuelja the Measure has begun, the company first-ever in 1884 began to make the cleared cocaine (these researches, by the way, the founder of psychoanalysis Zigmund Freud actively supported).

In the beginning of XX-th century E. Merck has received the patent for manufacture MDMA. In the company did not give this substance of special value and some time used it only as an intermediate product in synthesis of a vasoconstrictive preparation gidrastinina. Years later the civilisation However is a lot of has found out new properties MDMA and has named it "ekstazi".

In October, 1995 family Merck has decided to sell for the first time a part of actions of the company in the open market. The company has received for 25 % of actions more than $2,1 mlrd are there was one of the largest sales for all history of Germany. Today the group has replaced the name on Merck KGaA and continues to work successfully, taking a leading place in the German chemical market.

In the mid-fifties of the XX-th century companies E. Merck and Merck and Co. Have started to work in the same national markets, and there was a necessity to divide name Merck which has turned by then in one of the most expensive trade marks of the world. After long negotiations the companies managed to come to the compromise. Now the rights to exclusive use of stamp Merck in the USA and Canada belong American Merck and Co., and in Europe and in all other markets - German Merck KGaA. For this reason production of German group is on sale in America under umbellate brand EMD - under the name of the small pharmaceutical company which Merck KGaA should be bought specially for these purposes. Production of company Merck and Co. All over the world is on sale under stamp Merck Sharp and Dohme, and in Europe under stamp MSD Sharp and Dohme. Both companies regularly underline, that Merck KGaA is not the same, that Merck and Co.

Today Merck and Co. Has lost in the lead positions in the pharmaceutical market, it is a little conceding to the basic competitors - Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKlein. Analysts connect developed situation with a figure of the new general director - Rejmonda Dzhilmartina, the first in history Merck and Co. The economist who has become at a wheel of the company. For years of its board it was not possible to deduce on the market of any really new preparation. Periods of validity of patents for the most popular medicines bringing billions of dollars of the income, inevitably expire, and worthy replacement it is not visible to them yet. Merck and Co. It is compelled to spend more and more means for working out of new medicines (more than $2,5 mlrd in 2002), but these expenses yet have not brought expected results. Many analysts see an exit from the created situation only in purchase of the company with the big research potential.

Affairs Merck KGaA go more safely. Business of the German company more diversifitsirovan, and successes in the pharmaceutical industry are successfully combined with confident development in the market of fertilizers, pure chemical reagents, dyes, reagents for a chromatography, liquid crystals and in other areas of the chemical industry.