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Upjohn (Unternehmen)

2012-08-02T00:48:45Z

Lynn4: /* Chemistry */ revert 3rd reintroduction of WP:COPYVIOs by longtime persistently disruptive IP-hopping anonymous editor 209.150.249.21

Upjohn (Unternehmen)

2012-07-27T23:27:05Z

Lynn4: /* Chemistry */ revert 2nd reintroduction of WP:COPYVIOs by longtime persistently disruptive IP-hopping anonymous editor 71.240.253.202; see talk

Upjohn (Unternehmen)

2012-07-27T17:54:00Z

Lynn4: /* Chemistry */ revert reintroduction of tangential WP:COPYVIO paragraphs by IP-hopping anonymous editor 132.236.120.83 and 71.240.253.202

Upjohn (Unternehmen)

2012-07-27T17:52:02Z

Lynn4: /*Chemistry*/ remove unsourced opinion that "Upjohn is best known for the process that made possible large scale production of cortisone" reintroduced 12 April 2012 by IP-hopping anonymous editor 71.123.27.167

{{otheruses}}

'''The Upjohn Company''' was a pharmaceutical manufacturing firm founded in 1886 in [[Kalamazoo, Michigan]] by [[William_E._Upjohn|Dr. William E. Upjohn]], an 1875 graduate of the [[University of Michigan]] medical school. The company was originally formed to make ''friable pills'', which were specifically designed to be easily digested.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20070928141332/http://www.kpl.gov/collections/LocalHistory/AllAbout/biography/Upjohn.aspx Kalamazoo Public Library - Local History - William E. Upjohn: Person of the Century 1853 - 1932 (Internet Archive)]</ref> These could be "reduced to a powder under the thumb", a strong marketing argument for the time.

In 1995, Upjohn merged with [[Pharmacia]] AB, to form [[Pharmacia & Upjohn]].<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20060507201538/http://informagen.com/Resource_Informagen/report.php?mrn=112 Resource Informagen (Internet Archive)]</ref> Later the company merged with [[Monsanto Company]] and took the name Pharmacia; the company retained Monsanto's Searle drug unit and spun off the remaining interests, which became the "new Monsanto". Today the remainder of Upjohn is owned by [[Pfizer]]. Kalamazoo county retains major manufacturing capabilities as well as a large stake in Pfizer's animal health business. In 1997, Pharmacia & Upjohn sold several brands to [[Johnson & Johnson]], including Motrin and Cortaid.

==Chemistry==
[[Image:Unicap Upjohn.jpg|thumb|right|120px|Unicap, a [[multivitamin]] produced by Upjohn.]]
Upjohn developed a process for the large scale production of [[cortisone]]. The oxygen atom at the 11 position in this steroid is an absolute requirement for biological activity. There are however no known natural sources for starting materials that contain that feature. The only method for preparing this drug prior to 1952 was a lengthy synthesis starting from [[cholic acid]] isolated from bile. In 1952 two Upjohn biochemists, Dury Peterson and Herb Murraymake cortisone using a fermentation process. The breakthrough, which gave Upjohn an early competitive edge, followed with startling swiftness. A common mold of the genus [[Rhizopus]] was found to introduce enzymatically an 11 alpha-hydroxyl group directly into the female hormone [[progesterone]], which had just been synthesized from the [[soybean]] sterol [[stigmasterol]]--a one-step solution to the known multistep alternatives for 11-oxygenation. A parallel scenario in kind was repeated at Upjohn a quarter century later. The sister soybean [[sterol]] [[sitosterol]] was radically degraded microbiologically and concurrently oxygenated in ring C to produce 9 alpha-hydroxyandrostenedione, an alternative key intermediate for corticoid synthesis. <ref>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1481225</ref><ref>http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0039128X9290013Y</ref>

There are two common sources of [[sterols]]: the production of [[soybean oil]] leaves a waste rich in [[stigmasterol]] and [[sitosterol]]; the root [[tubers]] of Mexican barbasco contain [[diosgenin]].<ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=0DKMsFPa-BgC&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&dq=industrial+synthesis+of+the+steroids.+...+a+waste+rich+in+stigmasterol+and+sitosterol;+the+roots+of+the+Mexican+barbasco+plant&source=bl&ots=opAxUZ8ajx&sig=6w3wmyp8n5rnAUPkVBBD1FcFS7U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IL0GUPm-AYWO6gHBpYH-CA&ved=0CEgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=industrial%20synthesis%20of%20the%20steroids.%20...%20a%20waste%20rich%20in%20stigmasterol%20and%20sitosterol%3B%20the%20roots%20of%20the%20Mexican%20barbasco%20plant&f=false</ref>

In 1940, [[Percy Julian]] sent a one-pound package of [[progesterone]] to the Upjohn pharmaceutical company. Shipped under armed guard and valued at nearly $70,000, it was the first commercial shipment of an artificial sex hormone produced anywhere in America.<ref>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3402_julian.html</ref><ref>http://lipidlibrary.aocs.org/history/Julian/index.htm</ref>

During the 1950s Upjohn expanded internationally, allowing it to compete with other large drug manufacturers in foreign markets and fostering further advances in research. In 1949 and 1950, Upjohn joined S. B. Penick & Co. on an expedition to Africa in search of a plant that could provide a less expensive source of cortisone than that used by Merck, who had introduced the drug. While this venture was unsuccessful, ---the company discovered by accident--- a type of mold that was capable of fermenting [[progesterone]], the basic building block for [[cortisone]], out of [[diosgenin]]. Upjohn was able to capitalize on its discovery by forming a partnership with a Mexican firm, [[Syntex]], who isolated diosgenin from [[yams]], [[ Mexican barbasco trade]]. A number of new hormones now available, including the injectable contraceptive [[Depo-Provera]], were made possible by Upjohn's international initiatives. <ref>http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/the-upjohn-company-history/</ref>

On October 15, 1951, [[Luis E. Miramontes]], completed the synthesis of [[norethindrone]]. This milestone took place three months , July 1951, after [[Syntex]] contracted to sell [[Upjohn]] ten tons of [[progesterone]] at forty-eight cents per gram.<ref>Soto Laveaga, Gabriela (2009). Jungle Laboratories: Mexican peasants, National Projects and the Making of the Pill. pages 66 & 67. Duke University. ISBN 9780822346050.</ref>

Subsequently, Upjohn together with [[Schering]] biochemically converted cortisone into the more potent [[steroid]] [[prednisone]] by a bacterial fermentation<ref>http://www.prednisonesideeffects.org/prednisone-half-life-is-a-good-medicine/</ref><ref>http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?id=3735</ref> In [[chemical research]], the company is best known for the development of the [[Upjohn dihydroxylation]] by V. VanRheenen, R. C. Kelly and D. Y. Cha in 1976.<ref>V. VanRheenen, R. C. Kelly and D. Y. Cha ''[[Tetrahedron Lett.]]'' '''1976''', 1973-1976. ({{DOI|10.1016/S0040-4039(00)78093-2}})</ref> Upjohn's most well-known drugs before the acquisition by Pfizer were [[Alprazolam|Xanax]], [[Triazolam|Halcion]], [[Ibuprofen|Motrin]], and [[Minoxidil|Rogaine]].

==See also==
*[[W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research]]

==References==

{{reflist}}
* ''Upjohn Co. v. United States'' (449 U.S. 383) (1981)

== External links ==
*http://www.michmarkers.com/startup.asp?startpage=S0582.htm
{{Pharmaceutical companies of the United States}}
[[Category:Kalamazoo County, Michigan]]
[[Category:Companies established in 1886]]
[[Category:Pharmaceutical companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Pfizer]]

{{med-company-stub}}

Upjohn (Unternehmen)

2012-07-24T15:43:16Z

Lynn4: /* Chemistry */ revert WP:COPYVIOs by IP-hopping anonymous editor 71.240.253.202 on 12 July 2012, 18 July 2012, and 20 July 2012

Upjohn (Unternehmen)

2012-04-06T18:05:30Z

Lynn4: /* Chemistry */ remove unsourced undue weight "Upjohn research is best known for ..." opinion paragraph added 10 March 2007 by 70.108.186.25 (talk)

Upjohn (Unternehmen)

2012-04-06T17:59:25Z

Lynn4: /* Chemistry*/ Undid revision 485881874 by 71.182.97.202 (talk); revert addition of four off-topic WP:OR paragraphs about Percy Lavon Julian