Sterling Products

Sterling Products Corporation, later known as Sterling Drug, was a major American pharmaceutical company that played a pivotal role in the 20th-century drug industry. The company is most famous for its 1918 acquisition of the U.S. assets of Bayer, which granted it the rights to the Bayer Aspirin brand in the United States. Throughout its history, Sterling developed and marketed a wide array of successful products, including Phillips' Milk of Magnesia, Midol, and the analgesic Demerol. In 1988, the company was acquired by Eastman Kodak for $5.1 billion in a strategic move to diversify into the life sciences sector. However, Kodak eventually divested the business, selling the pharmaceutical division to Sanofi and the consumer health unit to SmithKline Beecham.