Smith Kline & French

Smith, Kline & French (SK&F) was a pioneering American pharmaceutical company that played a transformative role in 20th-century medicine. Based in Philadelphia, the company is best known for developing Tagamet (cimetidine), the first blockbuster drug to reach $1 billion in annual sales, which revolutionized the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. SK&F was also a leader in psychiatric medicine, introducing the antipsychotic Thorazine (chlorpromazine) to the United States, a move that significantly altered the landscape of mental health care. The company's portfolio included other widely recognized products such as the stimulant Dexedrine and the antihypertensive Dyazide. Through a series of major corporate consolidations, including a 1989 merger with the Beecham Group and a subsequent 2000 merger with Glaxo Wellcome, SK&F became a foundational component of the global pharmaceutical leader GSK. Its legacy is defined by its pioneering work in small molecule drug discovery and its success in creating globally dominant therapeutic brands.