Share

On 18 July 2022, Haleon listed as an independent company on the London and New York stock exchanges. Haleon is the result of the combination of three consumer health businesses, GSK, Novartis and Pfizer, over the last decade.

While Haleon is still a young company, some of our brands have over 170 years’ worth of history. The early foundations to what is today Haleon are in a single apothecary shop in London, opened in 1715 by Silvanus Bevan. Over the centuries our legacy companies have been founded, grown, acquired and merged, leading to the creation of Haleon which has one purpose – to deliver better everyday health with humanity. The below timeline gives a guide to the history of Haleon and the brands in our portfolio.



July 2022: Haleon demerged from GSK plc creating a company with management, infrastructure, capital allocation and incentives focused specifically on consumer health. Haleon is listed on London and New York stock exchanges

2019 to 2021: Significant divestment programme with the disposal of 50 non-strategic assets

2019: A Joint Venture was formed with Pfizer which ended in 2022 when Haleon listed as an independent company. Portfolio brands included Advil, Centrum, Caltrate, Robitussin, Emergen-C and Chapstick

2015 & 2018: A Joint Venture was formed with Norvartis in 2015, which was later fully bought out in 2018. Portfolio brands included Otrivin, Buckley, Excedrin, Fenistil and Theraflu



2015: Sensodyne mouthwash is launched         

2014: Fenbid chewable is launched       

2014: Zovirax duo is launched

2012: Pfizer acquired Alacer and its Emergen-C brand  

2008: Biotene acquired

2007: Alli is approved for OTC sale in the USA

2005: Excedrin is acquired by Novartis from Bristol-Myers Squibb

2002: Abreva is launched



2001: GSK acquired  Block Drug, including Sensodyne, Polident and parodontax

2000: SmithKline Beecham and Glaxo Wellcome merged to form GlaxoSmithKline plc

1998: Aquafresh flex neck brush is launched



1996: Novartis AG is created through the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz

1995: Glaxo and Wellcome merge to form Glaxo Wellcome plc

1994: American Home Products acquired American Cyanamid and its Centrum and Caltrate brands

1994: SmithKline Beecham acquired Sterling and its brand Panadol



1994: Beconase Hayfever is launched as an OTC product

1993: SmithKline Beecham acquired Corsodyl from ICI

1989: American Home Products acquired A.H. Robins and its Robitussin and ChapStick brands

1989: SmithKline Beckman and the Beecham Group merged to form SmithKline Beecham plc

1986: Beecham acquired Northcliff Thayer division from Revlon and its TUMS brand

1984: Advil launched by American Home Products launches for pain relief

1984: Caltrate launched by Lederle/American Cyanamid

1983: Fenbid (called Solpaflex in some markets) launched by SmithKline Beckman

1983: Biotene launched by Laclede       

1978: Centrum multivitamins launched by American Cyanamid’s Lederle division after 20 years of research



1978: Lewis-Howe company, the maker of TUMS, is acquired by Revlon (Norcliff Thayer division)



1978: Emergen-C is launched by Alacer

1975: Corsodyl launched by ICI as a gel and mouthwash

1974: Voltaren is launched by Geigy for the local relief of muscle pain



1973: Aquafresh toothpaste is launched by Beecham. It quickly became known for its stripes where the first two were for fighting tooth decay and fresh breath and the third stripe, added in 1981, was to promote healthy gums



1970: Ciba-Geigy is formed through the merger of the two companies

1968: Fenistil, a gel to reduce skin itching, is launched by Ciba    

1963: A.H. Robins acquires ChapStick from Morton Manufacturing Co.    

1961: Sensodyne, a toothpaste to reduce the sensitivity of teeth, is launched by Block Drug

1960: TheraFlu is launched by Sandoz for the relief of cold and flu symptoms

1960: Contac, medication for allergy and cold and flu symptoms launched by SmithKline & French. It became the world’s bestselling cold and allergy treatment



1956: Otrivin is launched by Ciba for the relief of nasal congestion

1955: Panadol, the first paracetamol-only pain relief medicine, is launched by Sterling Drug

1949: Robitussin is launched by Robins



1947: Joseph Nathan Company (founded in 1873) was bought by Glaxo Laboratories. Joseph Nathan & Company was founded in New Zealand, selling various merchandise coming off ships arriving from London

1946: Poli-Grip is launched by Block Drug, as a dental aid to keep dentures in place

1938: Beecham acquired Eno, including Scott's Emulsion, giving them worldwide coverage

1937: Dr. Focke launched Para-Dentax, a herbal-based anti-inflammatory toothpaste, in Germany. In the early 1960s it is renamed Parodontax. The brand is acquired by Block Drug in 1995



1930: Lewis-Howe company founded and started selling TUMS from a factory in St. Louis


1926: Beecham Cold and Flu powders for cold and flu relief are launched by Beecham

1925: Polident, a powder-based denture cleaner is launched by Block Drug

1924: Ostelin, a vitamin D supplement is launched by Glaxo



1923: Sterling Products acquired Phillips Milk of Magnesia and Andrew's Liver Salts

1919: Macleans toothpaste is launched. In 1927 this whitening toothpaste becomes one of the first whitening formulas on the market

1909: Albert H. Diebold and William Weiss begin buying patent medicine companies, this company becomes American Home Products in 1926 and is headquartered in New York



1906: Glaxo brand was registered by for dried milk powder for infants and later became the name of the company   

1901: Neuralgyline founded by Albert H. Diebold and William E. Weiss in West Virginia, which was renamed Sterling Products in 1915 and Sterling Drug in 1942

1894: Andrew's Liver Salts were introduced by Scott and Turner for indigestion or over-indulgence



1880s: Chapstick was first sold by Charles Browne Fleet of Lynchburg, Virginia. It’s popular locally but is never a bestseller due to its messy packaging. Eventually he sells it to John Morton for $5 in 1912

1880: Burroughs Wellcome & Company established in London by pharmacists Henry Wellcome and Silas Burroughs. Tabloid registered in 1884 as a trademark for compressed tablets and first sold  in the 1890s

1873: Alfred Scott and Samuel Bowne form a partnership to produce cod liver oil, branded as Scott’s Emulsion



1872: Charles Henry Phillips started to sell Phillips Milk of Magnesia for treating heartburn and indigestion

1852: James Crossley Eno started to produce Eno’s Fruit Salts. After they became popular with sailors to combat seasickness, he opened a factory in Newcastle in 1868

1848: Thomas Beecham launched his Beecham’s Pills business in the north of England. His pills became one of the most popular laxatives and led to him building what is claimed to be the first electric-powered factory in the UK in 1887



1847: John David Stief­­el established a candle company in Germany which later began making medicinal soaps. They were so popular he began to export them in the 1880s and opened a US business in 1910. During this era, the company sold over 100 different products in countries across the world. Stiefel was acquired by GSK in 2009

1830: John K. Smith opens his first drug store in Philadelphia, selling consumer medicines, which would later become Smith, Kline & French Company

1758: Johann Rudolf Geigy-Gemuseus founds a company in Basel to sell materials, chemicals, dyes and drugs of all kinds. It becomes known as Geigy



1715: The Plough Court Pharmacy opened in London by Silvanus Bevan, at this time they sold direct to consumers as well as making up prescriptions from doctors. In 1856 this business became Allen & Hanburys after passing to Bevan’s descendants and their business partners