From the general stores of family enterprises centuries ago to ‘big pharma’ and niche biotechs, the history of the global pharmaceutical industry is marked by constant change.

Shifting shapes

We’ve come a long way from the days in the middle ages when traditional remedies based on plants and minerals were the only treatments available. Yet it wasn’t until the 19^th century that the world’s pharmaceutical industry started moving towards the shape we recognise today.

It was an industry that started in part with entrepreneurial, family-centred enterprises that became the basis for companies with names that are still familiar – Merck introduced bulk alkaloids in 1827, Beecham's Pills were launched in 1842, and Bayer’s aspirin appeared in 1899.

Many enterprises can trace their origins to general offerings such as cod liver oil, hair treatments, toothpaste or, in the case of Glaxo, dried milk powder.

The industry slowly gathered momentum from the 1900s onwards. Research played an increasing role, but the main output stayed stubbornly diverse, ranging from natural plant products and chemical compounds to nutritional supplements and vitamins.

Post-war advances

The expectations and needs of the medical profession and patients increased after the second world war. The first antibiotic, the first medicine against tuberculosis and the first mass-produced antimalarial were introduced in the 1940s.

More methodical scientific approaches together with a better understanding of human biology – including, importantly, DNA – and more sophisticated manufacturing techniques contributed to the industry’s real ‘take-off’.

The decades after the 1950s saw the introduction of medicines for diabetes, mental illness, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Improved antihistamines, antidepressants and oral contraceptives were introduced in the 1960s and 1970s, a period marked by increasing knowledge and skills of scientists and technologists, together with the demands of the international marketplace in healthcare.

Biotechnology has opened up new opportunities in the search for new treatments.  Automation like high-through put screening and computerised modeling have contributed to many new leads, while our ability to produce human proteins has allowed the industry to make replacement insulin and develop monoclonal antibodies.  Where today's scientific advances will take us tomorrow is full of a promise.