Pfizer Inc.
Pharmaceuticals & BiotechnologyFounded 1849- Updated June 2026
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Last reviewed: June 2026
CorpDigest
Pfizer Inc.
Company History
Founded 1849 in New York, New York
Last reviewed: 2026-06-03 · By Swet Parvadiya
Charles Pfizer and his cousin Charles Erhart arrived in Brooklyn in 1849 with $2,500 in capital and a background in chemistry. Their first product was santonin, an antiparasitic compound they mixed with almond toffee to make it palatable for children — an early and practical recognition that drug delivery matters as much as drug chemistry. The company grew steadily for sixty years on specialty chemicals and pharmaceutical raw materials before a wartime moment changed everything.
In 1917, Pfizer researcher James Currie adapted a mold called Aspergillus niger to produce citric acid through fermentation rather than extraction from Italian lemons, which had become scarce during World War I. The technical breakthrough was significant on its own. Its lasting importance was the fermentation capability it built — the same deep fermentation tanks and microbiological expertise that, twenty-five years later, allowed Pfizer to produce penicillin at industrial scale.
When Alexander Fleming's penicillin discovery reached commercial development in the early 1940s, most manufacturers could not produce it in quantity. Pfizer's fermentation infrastructure was uniquely suited to the task. By 1944, the company had figured out how to grow penicillin in large-scale deep fermentation tanks — a manufacturing approach that increased yields by orders of magnitude. The contract to supply Allied forces at D-Day made Pfizer a strategic asset of the U.S. government and established the company's capacity for large-scale drug manufacturing.
Terramycin, discovered in 1950 from soil samples collected near a Pfizer plant, was the company's first proprietary antibiotic — the moment Pfizer transformed from a contract manufacturer into a drug developer. NYSE listing in 1972 brought public capital. The $111 billion acquisition of Warner-Lambert in 2000 added Lipitor, which went on to generate more than $125 billion in lifetime sales, making it the best-selling drug in history.
Charles Pfizer built the company that bears his name into one of the most important specialty chemical manufacturers in the United States during the second half of the 19th century. His scientific background in organic chemistry allowed him to develop proprietary manufacturing processes for compounds that were otherwise imported from Europe at considerable cost, creating genuine competitive advantages in markets where technical expertise was the primary barrier to entry. Pfizer's most strategically significant early business decision was the investment in fermentation technology for citric acid production, which built institutional capabilities that proved decisive in the company's transition to pharmaceutical manufacturing during World War II—four decades after his death in 1906. He was a naturalized American citizen who built his business reputation on quality and technical reliability, establishing a commercial character that the company maintained long after his personal leadership ended.
Charles Erhart's role in Pfizer's founding is less celebrated than his cousin's, partly because the company carries Charles Pfizer's name and partly because his commercial contributions were less visible than the scientific achievements that drove the company's growth. But the pairing of Erhart's commercial instincts with Pfizer's chemistry expertise represented the classic founding team complementarity that characterized many successful 19th century American manufacturing enterprises. Erhart died in 1891, predeceasing Charles Pfizer by fifteen years, and his interest in the company passed to his family. The company's original name—Charles Pfizer and Company—reflected the naming conventions of the era but understated the genuine partnership that characterized its founding. Historical accounts of early Pfizer consistently credit both founders with the operational and commercial decisions that established the company's reputation for reliability and quality in the specialty chemicals market.
Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart establish Charles Pfizer and Company in Brooklyn, New York, with $2,500 in seed capital. Their first product is santonin, an antiparasitic medication mixed with almond toffee for palatability. The company occupies a single red brick building on Bartlett Street in what is now the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Pfizer researcher James Currie successfully adapts Aspergillus niger mold to produce citric acid through deep-tank fermentation, eliminating dependence on expensive Italian lemon imports. By 1929, this technology makes Pfizer the world's largest citric acid producer, establishing industrial-scale fermentation expertise that will prove critical for penicillin production two decades later.
Pfizer delivers 90% of the penicillin used by Allied forces during the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Having converted its Brooklyn manufacturing plant to deep-tank penicillin fermentation in 1944, Pfizer becomes the world's first industrial-scale penicillin manufacturer. This achievement transforms the company's strategic identity from chemical manufacturer to pharmaceutical partner.
Pfizer scientists discover and develop Terramycin (oxytetracycline), the company's first internally developed antibiotic and first proprietary pharmaceutical product. The launch requires building one of the earliest large-scale pharmaceutical sales forces in American history. Terramycin marks Pfizer's transformation from chemical manufacturer to pharmaceutical innovator and establishes its commercial infrastructure for branded drug selling.
Pfizer lists its shares on the New York Stock Exchange and has by this point established commercial operations in more than 100 countries, making it one of the earliest truly global pharmaceutical companies. The international expansion strategy, pioneered through the 1950s and 1960s, positions Pfizer ahead of most pharmaceutical competitors in accessing emerging market pharmaceutical demand.
The FDA approves sildenafil citrate under the brand name Viagra for erectile dysfunction, marking one of the most culturally significant pharmaceutical approvals in history and generating $1 billion in first-year sales. Viagra demonstrates Pfizer's ability to identify and develop drugs for conditions with massive unmet demand and high pricing tolerance, establishing a template for blockbuster drug development and marketing.
Pfizer acquires Warner-Lambert in a $111 billion hostile takeover, then one of the largest corporate mergers in history. The acquisition brings Lipitor (atorvastatin) under the Pfizer umbrella—the drug that becomes the best-selling medication in pharmaceutical history with more than $125 billion in lifetime sales. The deal also brings the consumer health brands Listerine, Benadryl, and Halls, significantly broadening Pfizer's commercial portfolio.
Pfizer acquires Wyeth for $68 billion, adding the Prevnar vaccine franchise, Effexor, Pristiq, Enbrel, and a substantial consumer healthcare business. The acquisition significantly expands Pfizer's biologics manufacturing capability and vaccines portfolio, establishing the Prevnar franchise that becomes one of Pfizer's most durable multi-billion-dollar revenue streams.
Pfizer announces a partnership with German biotech BioNTech to develop an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. On December 11, 2020, the FDA grants Emergency Use Authorization for Comirnaty—the first mRNA vaccine ever authorized for human use. The vaccine is deployed globally at unprecedented speed, with Pfizer manufacturing more than 4 billion doses within 24 months.
Pfizer reports fiscal year 2022 revenues of $100.3 billion—the highest annual revenue in pharmaceutical industry history—driven by $37.8 billion from Comirnaty and $18.9 billion from Paxlovid, the oral antiviral COVID-19 treatment approved in December 2021. The record revenue produces adjusted diluted EPS of $6.58 and generates more than $29 billion in net income.
Pfizer completes the acquisition of Seagen Inc. For approximately $43 billion in December 2023—the largest acquisition in company history. Seagen brings four commercially approved antibody-drug conjugate oncology therapies (Adcetris, Padcev, Tivdak, Tukysa) and a pipeline of next-generation ADC candidates. The acquisition establishes Pfizer as a top-three player in the antibody-drug conjugate technology space alongside AstraZeneca-Daiichi Sankyo.
Pfizer reports fiscal year 2024 revenues of approximately $63.6 billion, representing stabilization after two years of COVID-related revenue decline. The company executes a $4 billion cost reduction program, eliminates approximately 3,500 positions, and initiates an additional $1.5 billion savings initiative. CEO Albert Bourla outlines a five-year oncology growth strategy centered on Seagen assets and internal pipeline progression.
Pfizer pursued Warner-Lambert to acquire the Lipitor (atorvastatin) cholesterol-lowering statin franchise, which was already on track to become the best-selling drug in history at the time of the acquisition. The deal was structured as a hostile takeover after Warner-Lambert had announced a competing merger agreement with American Home Products (later Wyeth), and Pfizer successfully outbid with a $111 billion all-stock offer. The acquisition also brought significant consumer healthcare brands including Listerine, Benadryl, and Halls.
Pfizer acquired Pharmacia Corporation for approximately $60 billion in 2003 to add the Celebrex (celecoxib) COX-2 inhibitor franchise, the cancer drug Camptosar, ophthalmology products, and a substantial pipeline. The acquisition was also motivated by post-Lipitor diversification concerns and the need to add research capabilities and marketed products to offset anticipated future patent expirations across the combined portfolio.
Pfizer acquired Wyeth for $68 billion during the financial crisis of 2009, using the depressed asset valuations of the period to complete what was then one of the largest pharmaceutical acquisitions in history. The primary strategic targets were the Prevnar pneumococcal vaccine franchise, the Enbrel (etanercept) biologics franchise for rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions, the Effexor and Pristiq antidepressants, and Wyeth's substantial consumer healthcare business.
Pfizer acquired Medivation for $14 billion in 2016 to secure Xtandi (enzalutamide), an androgen receptor inhibitor for prostate cancer that was among the most commercially promising oncology drugs of the decade. The acquisition was Pfizer's first major commitment to oncology as a primary strategic growth focus rather than a secondary therapeutic area, signaling a deliberate shift toward cancer treatment as an organizational priority.
Pfizer acquired Seagen for approximately $43 billion in December 2023 to secure leadership in antibody-drug conjugate technology, the fastest-growing drug modality in oncology. Seagen's four commercially approved ADC products—Adcetris, Padcev, Tivdak, and Tukysa—provided immediate revenue contribution while the ADC platform technology provided the foundation for Pfizer's oncology pipeline strategy through 2030. The acquisition represented Pfizer's response to the anticipated loss of exclusivity on Ibrance and the broader need to establish a new oncology platform capable of generating multi-billion-dollar revenues independent of CDK4/6 inhibitor franchise sustainability.