Who were some of the scientists who helped create the modern U.S. pharmaceutical industry?

Question

Zippia Team · Accepted Answer

Charles Pfizer, Charles Erhardt, and Eli Lilly were scientists who helped create the modern U.S. pharmaceutical industry. Their goals were to create safe, "ethical" drugs that had the ingredients printed on the label and were distributed across the country by doctors instead of salesmen.

To begin accomplishing this goal, Pfizer and Erhardt started a pharmaceutical company in Brooklyn, New York, in 1849. First, they started selling antiparasitic drugs, and after World War I, their company started producing and selling citric acid, gluconic acid, and ascorbic acid. They then moved to mass-producing penicillin during World War II.

Eli Lilly started his company in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1873. His company developed the first gel pill capsule, revolutionizing how drugs were packaged, extending their shelf life, and improving their ability to be absorbed by the body.

Both companies mass-produced their products, helping to usher in the pharmaceutical industry as it is today.