S.E. Massengill Company

The S.E. Massengill Company was a prominent American pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare firm founded in 1898 in Bristol, Tennessee. It is most widely recognized for its feminine hygiene products, particularly the Massengill brand of douches. Historically, the company gained notoriety for the 1937 Elixir Sulfanilamide tragedy, where an untested solvent led to over 100 deaths and prompted the passage of the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. In 1971, the company was acquired by the Beecham Group, eventually becoming part of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Today, the Massengill brand is owned by Prestige Consumer Healthcare.