According to Forbes, Pfizer Inc. (PFE) is the world’s 49th-largest public firm. Pfizer had a market capitalization of $194 billion as of Feb. 4, 2021.1 The origins of Pfizer date back to 1849, when two German-American pioneers founded the company as a fine chemical company and built it into a world-leading pharmaceutical company that develops, markets, and distribute in the United States over 312 drugs. Now Pfizer is a globally known pharma company due to the approval of its COVID-19 vaccine. Over the years, from litigation claiming trade secret theft to the millions of dollars it spends on lobbying, Pfizer has been no stranger to controversy. Pfizer’s history is fascinating and remarkable.

In 1849, Pfizer formulated the first medication, an antiparasitic drug used during the 1800s to treat intestinal worms. Chemist Pfizer and confectioner Erhart naturally blended and molded santonin into a candy cone with flavoring.  Pfizer introduced the first domestic manufacture of tartar and tartaric acid cream, products heavily used in the food and chemical industries. During the Civil War, Pfizer increased the production of tartaric acid and tartar cream to support the Union Army. In 1880, Pfizer started making citric acid using concentrated lime and lemon. As citric acid was used in their formulations for soft drinks, such as those manufactured by The Coca-Cola Company (KO), Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc. (KDP), and PepsiCo Integrated (PEP), demand for the biochemical increased. The main product and development of Pfizer subsequently stemmed from citric acid.

The secret history of Pfizer

In 2004, the Charity Ischemia Research and Education Foundation filed a lawsuit against Pfizer claiming that Pfizer arranged an arrangement to provide data with lead statistician Ping Hsu at the Ischemia Research and Education Foundation. A Santa Clara County jury ordered Pfizer to pay $38 million to the Ischemia Research and Education Foundation for the theft of drug secrets on December 24, 2008. Pfizer is one of the top spenders on pharmaceutical lobbying and, among other political issues, spends money lobbying for corporate tax cuts. Pfizer was scrutinized in 2018 for raising the cost of 100 of the company’s medications. In a tweet that July, Donald Trump also pointed out Pfizer, alleging that the corporation is “merely taking advantage of the poor & others unable to defend themselves.” The Twitter account of Donald Trump was permanently suspended in January 2021, however.

Pfizer remains one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms today, despite some losses. The organization’s sheer scale is mind-boggling, totaling well over 100,000 staff. One commentator likened the 38,000 sales reps of the organization to “three army divisions,” a sales force that has immortalized all things in a Hollywood rom-com, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, Lust and Other Substances. And with the company being one of the first in the world to get a COVID-19 vaccine licensed, it feels like we’re just on the verge of seeing where the company might go in the future through its partnership with BioNTech.

history of Pfizer