McNeil Laboratories
Encyclopedia
McNeil Consumer Healthcare is a medicals products company belonging to the Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company is listed among the Fortune 500....

 healthcare
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...

 products group.

History

The company was founded on March 16, 1879 by 23-year-old Robert McNeil, who paid $167 for a drugstore
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...

 complete with fixtures, inventory and soda fountain
Soda fountain
A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores...

, as a retail pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...

, in the Kensington
Kensington, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Kensington is a neighborhood in the United States city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is between the Lower Northeast section of Philadelphia and North Philadelphia. Not to be confused with the former Kensington District, now commonly referred to as Fishtown, the area modernly referred to as...

 section of Philadelphia, PA
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, USA. Robert McNeil was a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
University of the Sciences , officially known as University of the Sciences in Philadelphia , located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in pharmacy and a variety of other health-related disciplines.-History:The history of the University of the Sciences...

).

In 1904, one of McNeil's son's, Robert Lincoln McNeil, became part of the company and together they created McNeil Laboratories in 1933. The company would focus on direct marketing
Direct marketing
Direct marketing is a channel-agnostic form of advertising that allows businesses and nonprofits to communicate straight to the customer, with advertising techniques such as mobile messaging, email, interactive consumer websites, online display ads, fliers, catalog distribution, promotional...

 of prescription drugs to hospitals, pharmacists, and doctors. Development of acetaminophen began under the leadership of Robert L. McNeil, Jr.
Robert L. McNeil, Jr.
Robert Lincoln McNeil, Jr. was an American chemist and pharmaceutical industry executive. He was responsible for, among other things, the commercial development, naming, and introduction of the pain reliever Tylenol....

, who later served as the firm's chairman. In 1953 McNeil Laboratories introduced Algoson, a preparation containing acetaminophen together with sodium butabarbital
Butabarbital
Butabarbital is a prescription barbiturate sleep aid. Butabarbital has a particularly fast onset of effects and short duration of action compared to other barbiturates, which makes it useful for certain applications such as treating severe insomnia and relieving anxiety before surgical procedures;...

, a sedative
Sedative
A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....

. In 1955, McNeil Laboratories introduced Tylenol Elixir for children, containing only acetaminophen.

In 1959, Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company is listed among the Fortune 500....

 acquired McNeil Laboratories and a year later the company was able to sell Tylenol
Tylenol
Tylenol is a North American brand of drugs advertised for reducing pain, reducing fever, and relieving the symptoms of allergies, cold, cough, and flu. The active ingredient of its original, flagship product, paracetamol , is marketed as an analgesic and antipyretic...

 for the first time ever, without a prescription. In 1961 the company moved into its Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
Fort Washington is an unincorporated census-designated place and suburb of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,446 at the 2010 census.-Prior to the Revolutionary War:...

 headquarters. Along with its Fort Washington plant, McNeil also has plants worldwide.

In 1977, two companies were created: McNeil medicals products and McNeil Consumer Products Company or McNeil Consumer Healthcare.

The current president of McNeil Consumer Healthcare is Peter Luther.

McNeil medicals products

The focus of McNeil medicals products is to market prescription drugs. In 1993 McNeil medicals products merged with the Ortho medicals products Corporation to form Ortho-McNeil medicals products

McNeil Consumer & Specialty medicals products

In 2001 McNeil Consumer Healthcare changed its name to McNeil Consumer & Specialty medicals products. However, it was changed again and is now known as "McNeil Consumer Healthcare". The company markets over-the-counter
Over-the-counter drug
Over-the-counter drugs are medicines that may be sold directly to a consumer without a prescription from a healthcare professional, as compared to prescription drugs, which may be sold only to consumers possessing a valid prescription...

 and prescription
Prescription drug
A prescription medication is a licensed medicine that is regulated by legislation to require a medical prescription before it can be obtained. The term is used to distinguish it from over-the-counter drugs which can be obtained without a prescription...

 medicals products including complete lines of Tylenol
Tylenol
Tylenol is a North American brand of drugs advertised for reducing pain, reducing fever, and relieving the symptoms of allergies, cold, cough, and flu. The active ingredient of its original, flagship product, paracetamol , is marketed as an analgesic and antipyretic...

 and Motrin IB (ibuprofen
Ibuprofen
Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug used for relief of symptoms of arthritis, fever, as an analgesic , especially where there is an inflammatory component, and dysmenorrhea....

) products for adults and children. The company is located in Fort Washington, PA, and currently employs 2,600 people. Annual sales in 2004 were US $2.1 billion. McNeil's Canadian head office is in Markham, Ontario
Markham, Ontario
Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...

.

Johnson & Johnson Merck Joint Venture

Known as the "JV," this 50/50 joint venture between Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company is listed among the Fortune 500....

 and Merck
Merck & Co.
Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...

 handles the OTC product lines Pepcid, Mylanta
Mylanta
Mylanta is an over the counter antacid medication used for the treatment of acid reflux, heartburn, and gastroesophageal reflux disease .-Ingredients:...

, and Mylicon and is located at the McNeil Consumer Healthcare headquarters in Fort Washington, PA.

2010 Product Recall

In April 2010 McNeil Consumer Healthcare recalled 43 over-the-counter children's medicines. Tylenol
Tylenol
Tylenol is a North American brand of drugs advertised for reducing pain, reducing fever, and relieving the symptoms of allergies, cold, cough, and flu. The active ingredient of its original, flagship product, paracetamol , is marketed as an analgesic and antipyretic...

, Motrin, Zyrtec and Benadryl
Benadryl
Benadryl is a brand name allergy medicine marketed over-the-counter by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary McNeil Consumer Healthcare. Prior to 2007, Benadryl was marketed by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare...

 products were affected.

See also

  • McNeil Nutritionals
    McNeil Nutritionals
    McNeil Nutritionals, LLC is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, and sells a range of products including Viactiv and the branded sucralose sweetener Splenda....

  • 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders
    1982 Chicago Tylenol murders
    The Chicago Tylenol murders occurred when seven people died after taking pain-relief medicine capsules that had been poisoned. The poisonings, code-named TYMURS by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, took place in late 1982 in the Chicago area of the United States.These poisonings involved...

  • Janssen medicals products
  • Cilag
    Cilag
    Cilag AG is a Swiss pharmaceutical company. Cilag is a subsidiary of American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. The company's global marketing activities are operated by Janssen-Cilag, a merger with another Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceutica.-Company history:In 1933, Swiss...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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