| Industry | Pharmaceuticals |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1910 (1910) |
| Founder | William H. Rorer |
| Headquarters | Fort Washington ,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Key people | William H. Rorer (Founder) Gerald Rorer (President) Alison Howe Price, M.D. (Collaborator/Consultant) Claude Newhart (Salesman/Pharmacist who initiated collaboration) |
| Services | Manufacturing and distribution of pharmaceutical products |
William H. Rorer, Inc was an American multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered inFort Washington, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1910 by William H. Rorer, aPennsylvaniapharmacist.[1] The business operated as a small concern, primarily selling pain relievers manufactured elsewhere. It wasn't until afterWorld War II that the company's fortunes forever changed with the introduction ofMaalox which would become the world's best selling antacid.[2]
William H. Rorer founded William H. Rorer, Inc. in 1910 while working as apharmacist inPennsylvania. The business remained small, primarily selling pain relievers until 1949 when it introducedMaalox.Maalox was developed in collaboration between William H. Rorer, Inc. and a medical doctor and researcher specializing in gastrointestinal issues, Alison Howe Price fromPhiladelphia.[3] The collaboration came about afterWorld War II when Claude Newhart, a salesman andpharmacist for the company had an idea that he thought might change the company’s fortunes. According to the Rorer family, he suggested that instead of selling pain relievers that the company didn’t manufacture, they should create their own products. Gerald Rorer, president of Rorer and son of the founder, told Mr. Newhart to “go and find something.” Mr. Newhart took up the challenge and contacted an old acquaintance from his student days employed at a drugstore inPhiladelphia, Martin H. Rehfuss, who happened to be chief of medicine at Thomas Jefferson Hospital. It was Mr. Rehfuss who introduced Mr. Newhart to Dr. Price. It wasn’t long before Mr. Newhart convinced Price to become a consultant for theFort Washington, Pennsylvania based William H. Rorer, Inc. And it so happened that the first product the partnership produced wasMaalox.[4][5] It eventually would become the world's best selling antacid and forever change the company's fortunes.[6]
In 1965 the company introducedQuaalude (quiet interlude), similar in spelling to its top-selling antacid, Maalox, but it turned out to be far less successful for the company. The FDA withdrew Quaalude in 1984.[7]
Rorer's was headquartered inFort Washington, Pennsylvania.[8]
For many yearsMaalox comprised a large proportion of the drugmaker's sales. In order to diversify, Rorer merged with AmChem in 1968, an agricultural herbicide producer to form Rorer-AmChem. The merger did not turn out to be profitable and in 1977 Rorer sold AmChem toUnion Carbide.[10]
By the late 1980s, the pharmaceutical industry had experienced significant mergers, making it very difficult for Rorer to compete. In 1990 the company merged withRhone-Poulenc SA, France's largest pharmaceuticals' company, for 3.2 billion dollars. At the time of the merger, theMaalox lineup still represented one of the company's most important revenue streams.[11]