Overview

Merck Frosst Canada has a tradition of scientific excellence and customer service. Its present-day position as one of the world's leading innovative pharmaceutical companies owes much to this heritage.

The company started in the late 1890s with a hard-working young chemist, and a daunting sales territory: the rugged length and breadth of Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. The young Charles E. Frosst, during his seven years on the road for Henry K. Wampole and Company of Philadelphia, came to know almost all the doctors and pharmacists in the region by their first names, and to understand their concerns. He realized that there was a growing need for high-quality prescription medicines and over-the-counter products, backed up by excellent customer service.

In 1899, Frosst founded his company in Montréal, then the financial hub of Canada, with $5,000 in investment capital and four associates. At first the company manufactured mainly old-fashioned remedies, such as cough syrup and tonics. In 1910 it introduced two products based on acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) that would remain popular for three-quarters of a century and begin a heritage of expertise in inflammation and pain: the analgesic tablets 217^® (ASA+caffeine) and 222^® (ASA+caffeine+codeine), so called because they were respectively the 217th and 222nd items in the tablet section of the catalogue.

Tablet 217^® was the first to combine caffeine with ASA for muscle pain and headaches and it competed successfully against Bayer's Aspirin^® (ASA). Tablet 222^® added codeine to the formulation. The legacy begun with 217^® and 222^® continued over the decades with medications such as INDOCID^® (indomethacin), DOLOBID^® (diflunisal), CLINORIL^® (sulindac) and ENTROPHEN^® (ASA).

By 1959, when the company went public, Frosst was the largest Canadian-owned pharmaceutical manufacturer, with a successful and diverse operation. The prospectus listed a sales force of 84; regional branches in Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver; an agricultural feed subsidiary; and a lively export business. The product list covered 225 pharmaceutical products developed in the Frosst laboratories, in four main product groups: analgesics; antibiotics; vitamins and minerals; and other therapeutic products such as allergy medications and anticoagulants.

In 1965, Frosst was purchased by Merck & Co., Inc., an organization well-known for its research tradition, and the company known today as Merck Frosst Canada Ltd. was created.

An innovative pharmaceutical business needs the inspiration and partnership of the wider scientific community to keep its innovation alive. Merck Frosst has always been clear-sighted about the importance of nurturing Canadian scientific excellence. The firm awarded its first scholarship in 1900, only one year after going into business, thus beginning a long tradition of support for education and research in Canadian schools and universities.

From its earliest beginnings, Merck Frosst has placed scientific excellence, hard work, and customer service at the heart of its operations. This noble, yet pragmatic, business philosophy has, over the years, earned Merck Frosst Canada Ltd. its pre-eminent position in the Canadian pharmaceutical business and the life of the nation.