Wellcome Foundation

The Wellcome Foundation was a major British pharmaceutical company founded in 1880 by Henry Wellcome and Silas Burroughs as Burroughs Wellcome & Co. It became one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical organizations, distinguished by its unique ownership structure where all profits were directed to the Wellcome Trust for medical research. The company's laboratories were the site of numerous scientific breakthroughs, including the development of the first effective treatments for HIV/AIDS, herpes, and leukemia, earning its researchers multiple Nobel Prizes. In 1995, the Foundation was acquired by Glaxo in a multi-billion dollar deal to form Glaxo Wellcome, which later merged with SmithKline Beecham to become GSK. Today, the Foundation's scientific legacy persists through its widely used medicines and the continued global health impact of the Wellcome Trust.