Parke, Davis and Company (Now Pfizer)

Beautiful engraved Stock Certificate from Park, Davis and Company which was issued in the 1965. Park,Davis was the largest Drug Company in the world at the time this certificate was issued. This certificate has an ornate green border with a vignette of two women, one semi nude, sitting on both sides of the company's Logo.

Parke-Davis traces its history back to 1866, when Hervey Parke and George Davis formed a small company in Detroit, Michigan.

They pioneered the standardization of medications and built the first modern pharmaceutical laboratory. They also developed the first organized, systematic method of clinically testing new drugs.

In the first half of the 20th Century, Parke-Davis introduced a number of breakthrough products, including the first bacterial vaccine, a pure form of adrenaline, and Dilantin® (phenytoin), the first widely available treatment for epilepsy and seizure. Dilantin® remains a valuable therapy against convulsions.

After World War II, Parke-Davis popularized a number of anti-infectives, developed the Salk polio vaccine for widespread use, and introduced a new line of oral contraceptives.

In 1976, the acquisition of Parke-Davis was approved by the United States Government and in the mid-1980s, Warner-Lambert refocused on three main businesses: prescription pharmaceuticals, consumer health care products, and gums and mints. The company grew with the introduction, in the early 1980s, of the first effective cholesterol-lowering agent, Lopid.

In 1993, Warner-Lambert acquired Wilkinson Sword, combining it with Schick® to create the world's second largest wet-shave business. However, a far greater expansion of the company came in 1996, when Warner-Lambert entered into a co-marketing agreement with Pfizer on Lipitor® (atorvastatin calcium), a new entry into the statin class of lipid-lowering agents. Discovered by Parke-Davis Research and introduced in 1997, Lipitor® is the largest-selling pharmaceutical of any kind worldwide.

In 1999, Warner-Lambert acquired Agouron, based in La Jolla, California. Agouron is a leader in protein-based drug design and marketer of the protease inhibitor, Viracept® (nelfinavir mesylate).

Pfizer and Warner-Lambert announced their intention to join, a transaction completed in June 2000, creating the world's most valuable and fastest-growing pharmaceutical company.

Stock research by OldCompany.com (old stock certificate research service).