The origin of Merck & Co Company can be traced back to Mr. Friedrich Jacob Merck. In 1668, he purchased a drug store in Darmstadt, Germany. Few generations later, his descendent, Mr. Emanuel Merck took over the drug store in 1816. Later on, Mr. Emanuel Merck together with his successors built a chemical-pharmaceutical factory that served as a raw material producer for the pharmaceutical as well as usage for the other preparations.
In the year of 1891, Mr. George Merck set up the Merck & Co Company in New York City when he migrated to United States. Due to the family partnership, Merck & Co Company was named as Merck KGaA. In 1917, Merck & Co Company was confiscated due to the national wartime policy. However, the company was re-established later. This time round, Merck and Co Company became an independent American company.
George W. Merck led the company till 1950. The company merged with Philadelphia-based Sharp & Dohme, Inc. in 1953. Both Mr. Alpheus Phineas Sharp and Mr. Carl Friedrich Louis Dohme initially founded Sharp & Dohme, Inc. in 1845. In 1953, Merck became the largest drug manufacturer in the United States. The merger combined the strength of Merck (scientific research and chemical manufacturing) together with the strength of Sharp & Dohme (sales, distribution system and marketing expertise). The combined company kept …show more content…
Before the merging, both Merck and Schering-Plough were competitors. In reality, the purchase was structured as “reverse merger” on the paper although Merck acquired Schering-Plough. The “legacy Merck” was renamed as Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) where Schering Plough was renamed “Merck & Co., Inc.”. This is to ensure that the business technically continue surviving as the public corporate. The maneuver is also acts to preserve the Schering-Plough’s right in marketing the Remicade that was an ultimate decision made by the