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History of Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
The year was 1910. The place was Bavaria, which now occupies the southeastern area of Germany. A doctor named Karreth launches a pharmaceutical company. In naming the new company, Karreth chooses to honor the Regent of Bavaria, Prince Luitpold. Needing a fitting symbol to represent his new company, Dr. Karreth decides upon the impressive and majestic Church of Our Lady Cathedral (Frauenkirche) in Munich with its pair of identical spires, a symbol that is used to this day in the company's logo.
In 1978, the family of Dr. Karreth decided it was time to enter the United States market with Adequan ® (Polysulfated Glycosaminoglycan), a drug which was sold in Europe to treat equine joint disease. Yet the Karreth family needed to establish a physical presence to enter the US market. The opportunity presented itself in the form of the Natcon Chemical Co., a company in Plainview, Long Island, New York. This small, independent company produced a variety of drug products that were marketed through its American Quinine division, including injectables such as Aminophylline, Sodium Chloride, and Magnesium Sulfate. During this time, the company was preparing to move its headquarters to Shirley, Long Island, New York. It rapidly became apparent that the new facility would require major upgrades in order to ensure the company's continued commitment to quality and the integrity of the manufacturing process. The owners invested in renovations to both the plant and the equipment, and the small injectable company was reborn as American Regent Laboratories, Inc. (shortened in 2002 to American Regent, Inc.).
1991 brought about the sale of the global Luitpold Pharmaceuticals' business to Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. of Japan. Daiichi Sankyo is one of Japan's largest pharmaceutical companies (in total pharmaceutical sales). Only Luitpold Pharmaceuticals in the United States has retained the original company name, and the company has continued to grow dramatically. By early 2003, Luitpold Pharmaceuticals included four sales and marketing subsidiaries and divisions: American Regent, Inc., Luitpold Animal Health, Osteohealth Company division, and Contract Manufacturing.
October 2003 brought another giant leap forward for Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, Inc. when it acquired most of the assets of Pennsylvania-based Protarga, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company that pioneered the development of Targaceutical ® technology. A Targaceutical® is part of a new class of drug products that contain a fatty acid (or other fatty vector) that is chemically linked to a pharmaceutical agent, to increase drug delivery to the target tissue where it is needed. Relative to the parent pharmaceutical agent, a Targaceutical® may have increased pharmacological activity, reduced toxicity, and improved pharmacokinetic properties. Not only can this technology help to create new drugs, but it can also be used to improve drugs currently on the market.
Targaceutical® technology represents a major advancement in the development of drugs and a wide range of drug products. A few of the products using this technology under development include those used to treat cancer, infectious diseases, and mental illness.
With the acquisition of Protarga, Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has expanded its R&D pipeline to include exciting new therapies, leading the company once again in new and innovative directions. |
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Luitpold Karl Joseph Wilhelm became the Prince Regent of Bavaria in 1886 and until his death in 1912, provided a stable, steadying force for a country that had been in turmoil under the previous ruler. King Louis II (Ludwig) had built spectacular castles throughout Bavaria, but he had badly damaged the kingdom's economy in the process. Prince Luitpold rescued it when he was given the regency.
It was this period of time — the 26 years of Luitpold's reign as Prince Regent — that historians now consider to be the golden age of Bavaria.
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