Amgen vs Procter & Gamble: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Amgen and Procter & Gamble side by side

1. 1837Procter & Gamble

   Company Founded in Cincinnati

   William Procter and James Gamble sign a partnership agreement on October 31, 1837, establishing Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio, with combined capital of approximately 7,192 dollars.

2. 1862Procter & Gamble

   Civil War Army Contracts Fuel Expansion

   P&G wins contracts to supply the Union Army with soap and candles, generating significant revenue that enables manufacturing expansion and introduces millions of American soldiers to P&G products for the first time.

3. 1882Procter & Gamble

   Ivory Soap Launches Nationally

   Harley Procter and James Norris Gamble introduce Ivory soap, promoted as 99 and 44/100 percent pure and notable for its floating characteristic.

4. 1890Procter & Gamble

   Company Incorporates and Expands Nationally

   Procter & Gamble incorporates in Ohio with capital of 4.5 million dollars and begins building manufacturing capacity outside Cincinnati, establishing the operational infrastructure for national distribution that the Ivory soap advertising campaign had created…

5. 1911Procter & Gamble

   Crisco Shortening Introduced

   P&G launches Crisco vegetable shortening, the first hydrogenated vegetable oil product marketed to American consumers as an alternative to lard and butter.

6. 1931Procter & Gamble

   Brand Management System Invented

   P&G executive Neil McElroy writes a famous internal memo proposing that each brand have its own dedicated management team responsible for competing against all rivals including other P&G brands.

7. 1946Procter & Gamble

   Tide Detergent Launches

   P&G introduces Tide synthetic detergent, which rapidly becomes the best-selling laundry product in the United States and establishes the template for all future P&G brand development: superior product performance, heavy consumer advertising, and sustained mark…

8. 1961Procter & Gamble

   Pampers Diapers Introduced

   P&G introduces Pampers disposable diapers, transforming the infant care category and creating what will become one of the company's most globally significant brands.

9. 1980Amgen

   Applied Molecular Genetics is incorporated

   Applied Molecular Genetics (AMGen) was incorporated on April 8, 1980 in Thousand Oaks, California, as the idea of venture capitalist William K. Bowes Jr. and a group of scientific collaborators.

10. 1983Amgen

    Nasdaq listing and the erythropoietin clone

    Amgen completed its initial public offering on June 17, 1983, raising nearly US$40 million under chief financial officer Gordon Binder, and formally shortened its name to Amgen.

11. 1984Amgen

    Kirin-Amgen joint venture formed

    Amgen and Kirin Brewery Company of Japan formed Kirin-Amgen in 1984 as a joint venture for the worldwide commercialization of erythropoietin.

12. 1985Amgen

    G-CSF cloned, leading to Neupogen

    While Fu-Kuen Lin's team worked on erythropoietin, researcher Larry Souza and his group cloned and expressed human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in 1985.

13. 1989Amgen

    FDA approves Epogen

    The FDA approved Epogen (epoetin alfa) on June 1, 1989 for anemia in patients with chronic kidney failure on dialysis. It was the first commercial recombinant human erythropoietin. Epogen's U.S.

14. 1991Amgen

    Neupogen approved, giving Amgen a second franchise

    The FDA approved Neupogen (filgrastim) in February 1991. By stimulating white blood cell production it reduced the risk of infection in cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced neutropenia.

15. 1991Amgen

    Amgen wins the erythropoietin patent fight

    On March 6, 1991 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the Kirin-Amgen erythropoietin patent and ruled against Genetics Institute in Amgen v. Chugai Pharmaceutical and Genetics Institute.

16. 2001Amgen

    FDA approves Aranesp, the longer-acting EPO

    Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa), an erythropoietin analogue with modified glycosylation and a longer half-life, was approved in 2001. Less frequent dosing than Epogen improved convenience and gave Amgen a newer, higher-priced product to migrate patients toward.

17. 2002Amgen

    US$16 billion Immunex acquisition brings Enbrel in-house

    Amgen completed its acquisition of Immunex Corporation on July 16, 2002, the largest biotechnology deal to that point at about US$16 billion in stock and cash.

18. 2005Procter & Gamble

    Gillette Acquired for 57 Billion Dollars

    P&G completes the acquisition of Gillette Company for approximately 57 billion dollars in an all-stock transaction, adding Gillette razors, Braun appliances, Oral-B dental products, and Duracell batteries to the P&G portfolio.

19. 2010Amgen

    Prolia and XGEVA create the bone health franchise

    The FDA approved Prolia (denosumab) for postmenopausal osteoporosis in June 2010 and XGEVA, the same molecule at a higher dose, for prevention of skeletal-related events in cancer patients in November 2010.

20. 2014Procter & Gamble

    Portfolio Transformation Announced

    CEO A.G. Lafley announces P&G's plan to divest more than 100 brands and focus the company on approximately 80 core brands in ten product categories.

21. 2019Amgen

    US$13.4 billion purchase of Otezla from Celgene

    Amgen agreed in August 2019 to buy worldwide rights to Otezla (apremilast) from Celgene for US$13.4 billion in cash, or about US$11.2 billion net of the present value of US$2.2 billion of anticipated future cash tax benefits, and closed on November 21, 2019.

22. 2019Procter & Gamble

    Portfolio Simplification Completed

    P&G completes the brand portfolio simplification, having divested more than 100 brands and consolidated around approximately 65 core brands.

23. 2020Amgen

    Amgen joins the Dow Jones Industrial Average

    Amgen replaced Pfizer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on August 31, 2020, becoming one of the thirty components in the index. Inclusion recognized the scale Amgen had reached and added passive demand from Dow-tracking funds.

24. 2023Amgen

    US$27.8 billion Horizon Therapeutics acquisition closes

    Amgen completed the acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics plc on October 6, 2023 for US$116.50 per share in cash, an equity value of about US$27.8 billion, after settling FTC litigation with a behavioral consent decree.

25. 2024Amgen

    Imdelltra becomes the first T-cell engager for small cell lung cancer

    The FDA granted accelerated approval to tarlatamab, sold as Imdelltra, on May 16, 2024 for extensive stage small cell lung cancer that has progressed on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.

26. 2024Procter & Gamble

    Fiscal Year 2024 Net Sales Reach Approximately 84 Billion Dollars

    P&G reports fiscal year 2024 net sales of $84.0 billion and net earnings attributable to P&G of about $14.9 billion, and raises its quarterly dividend 7% to $1.0065 per share, its 68th consecutive annual increase.

27. 2025Amgen

    VESALIUS-CV extends the Repatha case to primary prevention

    In November 2025 Amgen reported Phase 3 VESALIUS-CV results in more than 12,000 patients with atherosclerosis or diabetes but no prior heart attack or stroke.

28. 2026Amgen

    Medicare price setting reaches Enbrel and Otezla

    Enbrel's negotiated Medicare price under the Inflation Reduction Act took effect on January 1, 2026, after it was named in the first round of ten drugs selected for negotiation.

Acquisitions

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