Wyeth traces its history back to a small drugstore - John Wyeth and Brother - established in Philadelphia in the 1860s. The brothers’ firm was more than just a drugstore; it was also a research laboratory that transformed patients’ access to medicines by the ‘advance manufacturing’ of frequently prescribed medicines in bulk.

Wyeth products first became available in the UK in 1878, with the Wyeth name quickly establishing itself as a trademark of excellence.

Some Wyeth landmarks:

• The first ‘compressed pill’ (tablet)
• The first soluble gelatine capsules, glycerine suppositories, and effervescent salts
• The pioneering of commercial penicillin production with the first penicillin tablets and oral suspensions
• Wyeth’s development of heat-stable freeze-dried smallpox vaccine, which played an important part in eradicating this disease
• Two Prix Galien awards for drug innovation have been made to Wyeth since 2000