Editing Pharmacia

{{Short description|Pharmaceutical and biotechnological company}}
{{Infobox company
| name             = Pharmacia
| logo             = File:Pharmacia logo.gif
| image            = 
| image_caption    =
| type             = [[Aktiebolag]]
| traded_as        = 
| foundation       = {{Start date and age|1911}}
| industry         = [[Pharmaceutical industry|Pharmaceutical]]
| location         = [[Sweden]] 
| fate            = Merged with [[Upjohn]] to form [[Pharmacia & Upjohn]]
| area_served      =
| key_people       = 
| products         = 
| revenue          = 
| operating_income = 
| net_income       =
| assets           = 
| equity           =
| num_employees    =
| subsid           =
| homepage         = 
| footnotes        = 
}}

'''Pharmacia''' was a [[pharmaceutical company|pharmaceutical]] and [[biotechnology|biotechnological]] company in [[Sweden]] that merged with the [[United States|American]] pharmaceutical company [[Upjohn]] in 1995.

==History ==
Pharmacia company was founded in 1911 in [[Stockholm]], Sweden by pharmacist Gustav Felix Grönfeldt at the ''Elgen'' Pharmacy.<ref>[http://www.foretagsamheten.se/Foretag/Foretag/Pharmacia/ Företagsamheten.se: Pharmacia]{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, accessed on June 17, 2009 {{in lang|sv}}</ref><ref>''Elgen'' is old Swedish spelling for ''Älgen'', which means "The [[Moose]]". Traditionally, almost all Swedish pharmacy shops have been named after animals.</ref> The company was named after the Greek word φαρμακεία, transliterated ''pharmakeia'', which means 'sorcery'. In the company's early days, much of its profits were derived from the "miracle medicine" [[Phospho-Energon]].

During [[World War II]], Swedish chemist Björn Ingelman (who worked for [[Arne Tiselius]] at [[Uppsala university]]) researched various uses for the [[polysaccharide]] [[dextran]]. Together with the medical researcher Anders Grönwall, he discovered that dextran could be used as a replacement for [[blood plasma]] in [[blood transfusions]], for which there could be a large need in wartime. Pharmacia, which then was still a small company, was contacted in 1943 and its CEO Elis Göth was very interested. The product Macrodex, a dextran solution, was launched four years later.<ref>[http://www.pharma-industry.se/artikelShowNew_Article.asp?leverantorsbokenID=120700 Pharma-industri.se: ''Krig, socker och samarbete lade grunden till företag i världsklass''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820100122/http://www.pharma-industry.se/artikelShowNew_Article.asp?leverantorsbokenID=120700 |date=2010-08-20 }} ("War, sugar and cooperation laid the foundation for a world-class company"), accessed on June 17, 2009 {{in lang|sv}}</ref>

Dextran-based products were to play a significant role in the further expansion of Pharmacia. In 1951, the company moved to [[Uppsala]], Sweden, to get closer to the scientists with whom they cooperated, and Ingelman became its head of research. In 1959, Pharmacia pioneered [[gel filtration]] with its [[Sephadex]] products. These were also based on dextran and discoveries in Tiselius' department, this time by [[Jerker Porath]] and Per Flodin. In 1967 Pharmacia Fine Chemicals was established in Uppsala. In 1986 Pharmacia Fine Chemicals acquired LKB-produkter AB and changed its name to Pharmacia Biotech. Pharmacia Biotech expanded their role in the "biotech revolution" through its acquisition of PL Laboratories from Pabst Brewery offering a line of recombinant DNA specialty research chemicals.  Sold to private interests in the 1990s, Pharmacia was first merged with "Kabi Vitrum" to form Kabi Pharmacia with headquarters in Uppsala.  In 1993, Kabi Pharmacia bought [[Farmitalia]], an Italian company that had developed [[doxorubicin]], a chemotherapeutic.<ref>Staff. [http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/content/4/5/345.2.extract News: Farmitalia bought by Kabi Pharmacia] {{webarchive|url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20160420014222/http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/content/4/5/345.2.extract |date=2016-04-20 }}. Ann Oncol (1993) 4 (5): 345.</ref>

In 1995 the company merged with the [[United States|American]] pharmaceutical company [[Upjohn]], becoming known as [[Pharmacia & Upjohn]] and moved its headquarters to [[London]].

In 1998, the company was divided into two business area. The pharmaceutical business became Pharmacia & Upjohn.  The scientific instruments groups which sold chromatography resin, purification equipment, molecular biology reagents and electrophoresis products was purchased by [[Amersham plc|Amersham]] in 1998 and was named Amersham Pharmacia Biotech. They later changed the name to Amersham Biosciences and ran their radiochemical and reagents business along with the highly profitable chromatography business. The Pharmacia Logo Drop remained as a highly recognized brand. Amersham Biosciences was sold to GE Healthcare in 2004 to become GE Healthcare Life Sciences. From 1 April 2020, GE Healthcare Life Sciences has been renamed [[Cytiva]], following the sale of GE Healthcare Life Sciences from [[General Electric]] to [[Danaher Corporation]] in a $21.4 billion acquisition.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}

===Overview===
The following is an illustration of the company's mergers, acquisitions, [[Corporate spin-off|spin-offs]] and historical predecessors:
{{clade | style=font-size:90%;line-height:110% |thickness=0
|label1='''Pharmacia'''<br/><small>(Merged with [[Upjohn]], 1995)</small>
               |1={{clade
                   |label1=Kabi Pharmacia
               |1={{clade
                   |label1=Pharmacia Biotech
               |1={{clade
                   |1=LKB-produkter AB<br/><small>(Acq 1986)</small>
                   |2=PL Laboratories
}}
                   |2=Kabi Vitrum<br/><small>(Acq 1990)</small>
}}
                   |2=[[Farmitalia]]<br/><small>(Acq 1993)</small>
}} }}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20220429115635/https://www.cytivalifesciences.com/ Cytiva]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Pharmaceutical companies of Sweden]]
[[Category:Biotechnology companies of Sweden]]
[[Category:Defunct companies of Sweden]]
[[Category:Pfizer]]
[[Category:Pharmaceutical companies established in 1911]]
[[Category:Pharmaceutical companies disestablished in 2002]]
[[Category:Life sciences industry]]
[[Category:Biotechnology companies disestablished in 2002]]
[[Category:Uppsala]]
[[Category:Swedish companies established in 1911]]
[[Category:Swedish companies disestablished in 2002]]