Amersham plc

Amersham is about visualising life at all levels within the human body--from the molecules and biochemicals that make our genetic structure, to cells, tissues, and organs. Our strategy is to build our position as a leading provider of products and technologies to enable the molecular medicine revolution, in which disease will be better understood, diagnosed sooner, and treated more effectively. The first Separations facility at Piscataway, New Jersey, is established by Pharmacia. Amersham's develops its first RIA (radioimmunoassay) kit for detecting insulin levels in the blood of diabetics. Amersham International is the first company privatized under the Margaret Thatcher government. Amersham acquires United States Biochemical (USB), a major innovator in DNA sequencing technology. Amersham launches OncoSeed treatment for prostate cancer in the United States and also launches Myoview, a commercially successful heart imaging agent. Amersham merges with Pharmacia Biotech in a 55:45 joint venture to form Amersham Pharmacia Biotech; and Amersham International also merges with Nycomed to form Nycomed Amersham PLC and the Nycomed Amersham Imaging business. The initial sequencing of the human genome is complete; and Amersham Health launches Datscan which is used in testing for Parkinson's. Amersham Biosciences acquires AG Technology and InnovaSep, two membrane filtration technology companies; and Amersham PLC purchases a 45 percent stake of Pharmacia's share of Amersham Biosciences. Amersham has participated in a cross-licensing arrangement for the joint development, supply, and commercialization of some new DNA technologies, and has been the leader in protein sciences. The DNA agreement may give the company greater access to the DNA sequencing market. At the time of the 2001 annual report, Amersham was working toward expanding its imaging capabilities from the visualization of tissue structure and anatomy to the visualization of disease-related changes in the cells and molecules of the human body. Pharmacia dates back to 1853, when Carlo Erba, an Italian pharmacist, started his own company, which later became Farmitalia Carlo Erba. This company later merged with Kabi Pharmacia and Pharmacia Aktiebolag to create Pharmacia AB, a Swedish-based company. The Upjohn Company, which began as The Upjohn Pill and Granule Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1886, grew throughout the 19th century to become an international company. In 1995, Pharmacia and Upjohn was created through the merger of Pharmacia AB and the Upjohn Company, a provider of healthcare products, animal health products, as well as diagnostics and specialty products. In 1998, the company relocated its global headquarters to Peapack, New Jersey, which is now the management and pharmaceutical headquarters for Pharmacia Corporation. Pharmacia also encompassed Monsanto, which was founded in St. Louis, Missouri in 1901, and produced artificial sweetener. Monsanto expanded into one of the largest chemical companies in the United States, making saccharin, aspirin, caffeine, and vanilla. Another pharmaceutical company, which was formed in 1888 by a young druggist named Gideon Daniel Searle, manufactured bulk laxative, the first motion sickness drug, the first oral contraceptive, and other innovative products. Searle was headquartered in Skokie, Illinois, and became the pharmaceutical unit of Monsanto in 1985. In 1999, Monsanto and Pharmacia & Upjohn agreed to create a new company, Pharmacia Corporation. In 1957, Pharmacia invented Sephadex, a filtration medium used in chromatography to separate biomolecules by size, and established Separations as a new business area. The discovery was made by Jerker-Porath of Uppsala and Per Flodin of Pharmacia, and was a gel-like substance based on cross-linked dextran that Björn Ingelman had developed during the war, thinking that it might serve as a pectin substitute. The product was launched in 1960, with the name Sephadex drawn from SEpa