Roussel Uclaf
Encyclopedia
Roussel Uclaf S.A. was the second largest French
pharmaceutical company before it was acquired by Hoechst AG
of Frankfurt, Germany
in 1997, with pharmaceutical operations combined into the Hoechst Marion Roussel
(HMR) division. Roussel Uclaf's agrochemical operations had been transferred to Hoechst Schering AgrEvo GmBh
in 1994.
HMR subsequently merged in 1999 with Rhône-Poulenc
to form Aventis
, which then merged in 2004 with Sanofi-Synthélabo
to form Sanofi-Aventis
. Hoechst Schering AgrEvo merged in 1999 with Rhône-Poulenc's agrochemical division to form Aventis CropScience, which was acquired by Bayer AG
in 2002 and combined with Bayer's agrochemical division to form Bayer CropScience.
antagonist
s, chemist Georges Teutsch synthesized mifepristone
(RU-38486, the 38,486th compound synthesized by Roussel-Uclaf from 1949 to 1980; shortened to RU-486); which was discovered to also be a progesterone receptor
antagonist.
In October 1981, endocrinologist Étienne-Émile Baulieu
, a consultant to Roussel-Uclaf, arranged tests of its use for medical abortion
in eleven women in Switzerland
by gynecologist Walter Herrmann at the University of Geneva
's Cantonal Hospital, with successful results announced on April 19, 1982. On October 9, 1987, following worldwide clinical trials in 20,000 women of mifepristone with a prostaglandin
analogue (initially sulprostone
or gemeprost
, later misoprostol
) for medical abortion, Roussel-Uclaf sought approval in France for their use for medical abortion, with approval announced on September 23, 1988.
On October 21, 1988, in response to antiabortion protests and concerns of majority (54.5%) owner Hoechst AG of Germany, Roussel-Uclaf’s executives and board of directors voted 16 to 4 to stop distribution of mifepristone, which they announced on October 26, 1988. Two days later, the French government ordered Roussel-Uclaf to distribute mifepristone in the interests of public health. French Health Minister Claude Évin
explained that: "I could not permit the abortion debate to deprive women of a product that represents medical progress. From the moment Government approval for the drug was granted, RU-486 became the moral property of women, not just the property of a drug company." Following use by 34,000 women in France from April 1988 to February 1990 of mifepristone distributed free of charge, Roussel-Uclaf began selling Mifegyne (mifepristone) to hospitals in France in February 1990 at a price (negotiated with the French government) of $48 per 600 mg dose.
Mifegyne was subsequently approved in Great Britain
on July 1, 1991, and in Sweden
in September 1992, but until his retirement in late April 1994, Hoechst AG chairman Wolfgang Hilger, a devout Roman Catholic, blocked any further expansion in availability. On May 16, 1994, Roussel-Uclaf announced that it was donating without remuneration all rights for medical uses of mifepristone in the U.S. to the Population Council
, which subsequently licensed mifepristone to Danco Laboratories
, a new single-product company immune to antiabortion boycotts, which won FDA approval as Mifeprex on September 28, 2000.
On April 8, 1997, after buying the remaining 43.5% of Roussel-Uclaf stock in early 1997, Hoechst AG ($30 billion annual revenue) announced the end of its manufacture and sale of Mifegyne ($3.44 million annual revenue) and the transfer of all rights for medical uses of mifepristone outside of the U.S. to Exelgyn S.A., a new single-product company immune to antiabortion boycotts, whose CEO was former Roussel-Uclaf CEO Édouard Sakiz. In 1999, Exelgyn won approval of Mifegyne in 11 additional countries, and in 28 more countries over the following decade.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
pharmaceutical company before it was acquired by Hoechst AG
Hoechst AG
Hoechst AG was a German chemicals then life-sciences company that became Aventis Deutschland after its merger with France's Rhône-Poulenc S.A. in 1999...
of Frankfurt, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1997, with pharmaceutical operations combined into the Hoechst Marion Roussel
Marion Merrell Dow
Marion Merrell Dow and its predecessor Marion Laboratories was a U.S. pharmaceutical company based in Kansas City, Missouri from 1950 until 1996....
(HMR) division. Roussel Uclaf's agrochemical operations had been transferred to Hoechst Schering AgrEvo GmBh
Hoechst Schering AgrEvo GmBh
Hoechst Schering AgrEvo GmBh was a Düsseldorf-based limited liability company owned by Hoechst AG and Schering AG that only existed as an independent company for five years, from 1994 to 1999....
in 1994.
HMR subsequently merged in 1999 with Rhône-Poulenc
Rhône-Poulenc
-History of the company:The Company was founded in 1928 through the merger of Société des Usines Chimiques du Rhône from Lyon and Établissements Poulenc Frères from Paris founded by Étienne Poulenc, a 19th century Parisian apothecary and brought to prominence by his second and third sons Emile...
to form Aventis
Aventis
Aventis was a pharmaceutical and lab assay testing company. It was formed in 1999 when Rhône-Poulenc S.A. merged with Hoechst AG. The merged company was based in Strasbourg, France. With its headquarters in Strasbourg, Aventis was the product of the first transnational merger to combine large...
, which then merged in 2004 with Sanofi-Synthélabo
Sanofi-Synthélabo
Sanofi-Synthélabo was a Paris-based pharmaceutical company formed in 1999, when Sanofi merged with Synthélabo. Sanofi-Aventis was formed in 2004 when Sanofi-Synthélabo merged with Aventis.Sanofi was created in 1973....
to form Sanofi-Aventis
Sanofi-Aventis
Sanofi S.A. is a multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Paris, France, the world's fourth-largest by prescription sales. Sanofi engages in the research and development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical products for sale principally in the prescription market, but the...
. Hoechst Schering AgrEvo merged in 1999 with Rhône-Poulenc's agrochemical division to form Aventis CropScience, which was acquired by Bayer AG
Bayer
Bayer AG is a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen , Germany in 1863. It is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and well known for its original brand of aspirin.-History:...
in 2002 and combined with Bayer's agrochemical division to form Bayer CropScience.
RU-486
In April 1980, as part of a formal research project at Roussel-Uclaf for the development of glucocorticoid receptorGlucocorticoid receptor
The glucocorticoid receptor also known as NR3C1 is the receptor to which cortisol and other glucocorticoids bind....
antagonist
Receptor antagonist
A receptor antagonist is a type of receptor ligand or drug that does not provoke a biological response itself upon binding to a receptor, but blocks or dampens agonist-mediated responses...
s, chemist Georges Teutsch synthesized mifepristone
Mifepristone
Mifepristone is a synthetic steroid compound used as a pharmaceutical. It is a progesterone receptor antagonist used as an abortifacient in the first months of pregnancy, and in smaller doses as an emergency contraceptive. During early trials, it was known as RU-38486 or simply RU-486, its...
(RU-38486, the 38,486th compound synthesized by Roussel-Uclaf from 1949 to 1980; shortened to RU-486); which was discovered to also be a progesterone receptor
Progesterone receptor
The progesterone receptor also known as NR3C3 , is an intracellular steroid receptor that specifically binds progesterone...
antagonist.
In October 1981, endocrinologist Étienne-Émile Baulieu
Étienne-Émile Baulieu
Étienne-Émile Baulieu is a French biochemist and endocrinologist who is best known for his research in the field of steroid hormones and their role in reproduction and aging.-Biography:...
, a consultant to Roussel-Uclaf, arranged tests of its use for medical abortion
Medical abortion
A medical abortion is a type of non-surgical abortion in which abortifacient pharmaceutical drugs are used to induce abortion. An oral preparation for medical abortion is commonly referred to as an abortion pill....
in eleven women in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
by gynecologist Walter Herrmann at the University of Geneva
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...
's Cantonal Hospital, with successful results announced on April 19, 1982. On October 9, 1987, following worldwide clinical trials in 20,000 women of mifepristone with a prostaglandin
Prostaglandin
A prostaglandin is any member of a group of lipid compounds that are derived enzymatically from fatty acids and have important functions in the animal body. Every prostaglandin contains 20 carbon atoms, including a 5-carbon ring....
analogue (initially sulprostone
Sulprostone
Sulprostone is an oxytocic.It is an analogue of prostaglandin E2....
or gemeprost
Gemeprost
Gemeprost is an analogue of prostaglandin E1.-Clinical use:It is used as a treatment for obstetric bleeding.It is used with RU486 to terminate pregnancy up to 24 weeks gestation...
, later misoprostol
Misoprostol
Misoprostol is a drug that is used for the prevention of non steroidal anti inflammatory drug induced gastric ulcers, for early abortion, to treat missed miscarriage, and to induce labor. The latter use is controversial in the United States. Misoprostol was invented and marketed by G.D...
) for medical abortion, Roussel-Uclaf sought approval in France for their use for medical abortion, with approval announced on September 23, 1988.
On October 21, 1988, in response to antiabortion protests and concerns of majority (54.5%) owner Hoechst AG of Germany, Roussel-Uclaf’s executives and board of directors voted 16 to 4 to stop distribution of mifepristone, which they announced on October 26, 1988. Two days later, the French government ordered Roussel-Uclaf to distribute mifepristone in the interests of public health. French Health Minister Claude Évin
Claude Évin
Claude Evin is a French politician and lawyer.He was first elected in 1978. Prior to becoming a Member of Parliament, Claude Evin was the deputy mayor of Saint-Nazaire, a post he held until 1989...
explained that: "I could not permit the abortion debate to deprive women of a product that represents medical progress. From the moment Government approval for the drug was granted, RU-486 became the moral property of women, not just the property of a drug company." Following use by 34,000 women in France from April 1988 to February 1990 of mifepristone distributed free of charge, Roussel-Uclaf began selling Mifegyne (mifepristone) to hospitals in France in February 1990 at a price (negotiated with the French government) of $48 per 600 mg dose.
Mifegyne was subsequently approved in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
on July 1, 1991, and in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in September 1992, but until his retirement in late April 1994, Hoechst AG chairman Wolfgang Hilger, a devout Roman Catholic, blocked any further expansion in availability. On May 16, 1994, Roussel-Uclaf announced that it was donating without remuneration all rights for medical uses of mifepristone in the U.S. to the Population Council
Population Council
The Population Council is an international, nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The Council conducts biomedical, social science, and public health research and helps build research capacities in developing countries. One-third of its research relates to HIV and AIDS; its other major program...
, which subsequently licensed mifepristone to Danco Laboratories
Danco Laboratories
Danco Laboratories is an LLC which was incorporated in 1995. Danco has a license from the Population Council to distribute the drug mifepristone, under the brand name Mifeprex. Mifeprex is the only drug distributed by Danco. The offices of Danco are in New York City, and are under an unlisted phone...
, a new single-product company immune to antiabortion boycotts, which won FDA approval as Mifeprex on September 28, 2000.
On April 8, 1997, after buying the remaining 43.5% of Roussel-Uclaf stock in early 1997, Hoechst AG ($30 billion annual revenue) announced the end of its manufacture and sale of Mifegyne ($3.44 million annual revenue) and the transfer of all rights for medical uses of mifepristone outside of the U.S. to Exelgyn S.A., a new single-product company immune to antiabortion boycotts, whose CEO was former Roussel-Uclaf CEO Édouard Sakiz. In 1999, Exelgyn won approval of Mifegyne in 11 additional countries, and in 28 more countries over the following decade.