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| Company type | Subsidiary ofPfizer |
|---|---|
| NYSE: GDS (no longer trading) | |
| Industry | Pharmaceutical |
| Founded | 1888; 137 years ago (1888) (as G. D. Searle & Company) |
| Founder | Gideon Daniel Searle |
| Headquarters | New York City, United States |
| Products | Pharmaceutical products |
| Website | searlecompany |
G. D. Searle & Company (often referred to asSearle) was an American pharmaceutical company, now owned byPfizer. Searle is most notable for having developed the first femalebirth control pill,[1] and the artificial sweetenerNutraSweet. Searle also developed the drugLomotil, an antidiarrheal medication. One notable alumnus of Searle wasDonald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense forGeorge W. Bush in the 2000s. Prior to its 1985 merger withMonsanto, Searle was a company mainly focusing on life sciences, specifically pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and animal health.
In 1888 (137 years ago) (1888),Gideon Daniel Searle founded Searle inOmaha, Nebraska.[2] The company incorporated in 1908 and established headquarters inSkokie, Illinois in 1941.[2]
Daniel C. Searle served as the chief executive officer and president of G. D. Searle & Co from 1970 to 1977 and initially led efforts to gain FDA approval of the artificial sweetener aspartame.[3][4]
Between 1977 and 1985,Donald Rumsfeld was CEO, and then president, of Searle.[5][6] In 1985, he negotiated the acquisition of Searle byMonsanto Corporation.[7]
In 1993, a team of researchers at Searle Research and Development filed a patent application forcelecoxib,[8] which Searle developed and which became the first selectiveCOX-2 inhibitor to be approved by the FDA on December 31, 1998.[9] Control of this blockbuster drug was often mentioned as a key reason for Pfizer's acquisition of Pharmacia.[10]
Monsanto merged withPharmacia & Upjohn in 2001, including the Searle pharmaceutical assets.[11] After spinning off its agrochemical and biotechnical business units under the Monsanto name, the new company (known as Pharmacia) was acquired byPfizer in 2003.[10]
The company manufactures prescription drugs and nuclear medicine imaging equipment. Searle is known for its release ofEnovid, thefirst commercial oral contraceptive, in 1960.[12]
In 1996, the FDA removed all restrictions on the use ofaspartame, which enabled its use in heated and baked goods. G. D. Searle's patent on aspartame was extended in 1981 and ultimately expired in December 1992.[13]
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