1884

Hoechst Dye Company, formerly a coal-tar (aniline) dye manufacturer outside Frankfurt, uses a grad student’s research to produce its first aniline-based pharmaceuticals as end product, among them antipyrine (now phenazone), used as an antipyretic and analgesic, which was a great success and established the outstanding reputation of Hoechst pharmaceuticals worldwide. “Although the tonic’s deeply unpleasant gastric side effects soon forced its withdrawal from the market, antipyrine enjoyed a brief commercial success and inspired a number of imitators” (Jeffreys II, loc 460-464).