Pharmacia & Upjohn and Eli Lilly

Pharmacia & Upjohn was a major global pharmaceutical company formed in 1995 through the $13 billion merger of the Swedish company Pharmacia AB and the American company The Upjohn Company. The company was a leader in several therapeutic areas, including ophthalmology with the glaucoma drug Xalatan, urology with the overactive bladder treatment Detrol, and endocrinology with the growth hormone Genotropin. In 2000, Pharmacia & Upjohn merged with Monsanto (specifically its pharmaceutical unit, Searle) to form Pharmacia Corporation, which was subsequently acquired by Pfizer in 2003 for approximately $60 billion. The acquisition was primarily driven by Pfizer's desire to gain full control of the blockbuster COX-2 inhibitor Celebrex, which Pharmacia had co-promoted with Pfizer.