Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

▪ American company

      American company resulting from a merger in 1989 and dating to companies founded in 1858 and 1887. It produces pharmaceuticals, vitamins, medical devices, and beauty and personal care products. Headquarters are in New York City.

      The original firm, Clinton Pharmaceutical Co., was founded in Clinton, New York, in 1887 by William McLaren Bristol, Sr., and John R. Myers. It was incorporated as Bristol-Myers Company in 1900 and by then had moved from Clinton to Syracuse and then to Brooklyn, New York. The company first made drugs for physicians, but after World War I it concentrated on the laxative Sal Hepatica and other over-the-counter proprietary drugs and entered the field of toiletries, notably with Ipana toothpaste. In 1929 Bristol-Myers was absorbed by a giant holding company, Drug Inc., which, however, dissolved during the Great Depression. Bristol-Myers became a publicly traded company in 1933.

      In 1943 the company returned to making drugs and, over the years, diversified by buying up a number of other companies, including a hair-care and cosmetics firm in 1959, a household-product manufacturer in 1965, and an infant-formula and nutrition company in 1967. In 1989 the merger of Bristol-Myers Company and Squibb Corporation (descendant of a company founded by E.R. Squibb (Squibb, E R) in 1858) created one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. In addition to over-the-counter products such as Excedrin analgesics and Enfamil infant formulas, Bristol-Myers Squibb sells prescription medications for the treatment of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

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