[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 19]
[Senate]
[Pages 27517-27518]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                   150TH ANNIVERSARY OF PFIZER, INC.

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate Pfizer, 
Inc., on its 150th anniversary and to applaud the company for its many 
innovations in the pharmaceutical industry. The history of Pfizer is 
one of risk-taking, confident decision-making, and dramatic medical 
advances. It is the story of a small chemical company founded in 
Brooklyn, New York, which over 150 years has evolved into one of the 
world's premier pharmaceutical enterprises.
  Cousins Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart emigrated to the United 
States from Germany in the mid-1840s. In New York City, the young 
cousins combined their skills and in 1849 founded a small chemical 
firm. Charles Pfizer & Company improved the American chemical market by 
manufacturing specialty chemicals that had not yet been produced in 
America. During its first 75 years, the company made many important 
discoveries and marketed popular and effective drug treatments. Union 
soldiers used Pfizer drugs extensively during the Civil War.

[[Page 27518]]

  However, Pfizer's real emergence as an industry leader was the result 
of a daring risk taken by Pfizer executives in the 1940s. In 1928, when 
Alexander Fleming discovered the germ-killing properties of penicillin, 
he knew that it could have a profound medical value. Yet, Fleming could 
not figure out a way to mass-produce the drug. In 1941, following new 
discoveries relating to this ``wonder drug'', Pfizer executives put 
their own stocks at stake and invested millions of dollars in finding a 
way to mass-produce penicillin. Eventually, they succeeded. The 
breakthrough came just in time to send penicillin to the front lines of 
World War II.
  From that point forward, Pfizer evolved into an international leader 
in the pharmaceutical industry, opening facilities around the globe and 
developing new and effective antibiotics to combat deadly infectious 
diseases. Pfizer's products, which treat a variety of diseases and 
disorders, are now available in 150 countries. The company also has 
thriving consumer health care and animal health care divisions. Pfizer 
now employs close to 50,000 people in 85 countries, including 4,939 
employees in their Groton research facility, which lies in my home 
state of Connecticut.
  The desire to live a healthy life is universal. But for millions of 
people around the world, access to high quality health care remains out 
of reach. Pfizer is committed to bringing its medicines to those in 
need. Through Sharing the Care, a program started in 1993, Pfizer has 
filled more than 3.0 million prescriptions--valued at over $170 
million--for more than one million uninsured patients in the United 
States. The program was cited by American Benefactor, a leading 
philanthropy journal, in selecting Pfizer as one of America's 25 most 
generous companies for 1998.
  Pfizer today is renowned as one of the world's most admired 
corporations for the many contributions it has made to our society. I 
applaud Pfizer on its 150th anniversary for its continued efforts to 
making this nation and this world a healthier place.

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