Farmitalia

Farmitalia was an Italian pharmaceutical company best known for its parallel discovery with Rhone-Poulenc of daunorubicin and subsequent discovery of doxorubicin.^[1] Farmitalia had been founded in 1935 as a joint venture by Rhone-Poulenc and Montecatini.^[2]

In 1978 it was merged with Carlo Erba SpA, a pharmaceutical company that had been founded in 1853 by the pharmacist Carlo Erba, in which Montecatini had acquired a controlling interest in 1971; the merged company was called Farmitalia Carlo Erba SpA.^[2]

Farmitalia Carlo Erba was acquired by Pharmacia in 1993^[3] and Pharmacia was acquired by Pfizer in 2003.^[4]

Drugs discovered at Farmitalia that reached the market included (with date of first publication):

• 1960 Sulfalene^[5][6]
• 1963 Daunorubicin^[7][8]
• 1969 Doxorubicin^[1][9]
• 1980 Cabergoline^[10][11]
• 1984 Reboxetine^[12][13]

References

1. Weiss RB (December 1992). "The anthracyclines: will we ever find a better doxorubicin?". Seminars in Oncology 19 (6): 670–86. PMID 1462166.
2. Bilotto Antonella for Regione Lombardia. Carlo Erba SpA Page accessed April 17, 2016
3. Staff. News: Farmitalia bought by Kabi Pharmacia. Ann Oncol (1993) 4 (5): 345.
4. Staff, CNN/Money. April 16, 2003 It's official: Pfizer buys Pharmacia
5. Baruffa G. Clinical trials in Plasmodium falciparum malaria with a long-acting sulphonamide. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1966;60(2):222-4. PMID 5332105
6. Per prior citation, the first publication: Camerino B, Palamidessi G (1960) Derivati della parazina II. Sulfonamdopir (in Italian). Gazz Chim Ital 90:1802–1815
7. Suarato A, Angelucci F, Geroni C. Ring-B modified anthracyclines. Curr Pharm Des. 1999 Mar;5(3):217-27. Review. PMID 10066891
8. Grein A, et al. Descrizione e classificazione di un attinomicete (Streptonryces peucetius sp. nova) produttore di una sostanza ad attivita antitumorale. Giorn. Microbiol. 11: 109~ 118, 1963
9. Arcamone F, Cassinelli G, Fantini G, et al. (1969). "Adriamycin, 14-hydroxydaunomycin, a new antitumor antibiotic from S. peucetius var. caesius". Biotechnol Bioeng 11 (6): 1101–10. doi:10.1002/bit.260110607. PMID 5365804.
10. Council regulation (EEC) no 1768/92 in the matter of Application No SPC/GB94/012 for a Supplementary Protection Certificate in the name of Farmitalia Carlo Erba S. r. l.
11. Espace record: GB 202074566
12. Cocchiara G, et al Comparison of the disposition and of the metabolic pattern of Reboxetine, a new antidepressant, in the rat, dog, monkey and man. Eur J Drug Metab Pharmacokinet. 1991 Jul-Sep;16(3):231-9. PMID 1814741
13. First publication per prior citation: Melloni M et al. Potential antidepressant agents. α-aryloxy-benzyl derivatives of ethanolamine and morpholine. Eur J Med Chem, 3 (1984), pp. 235–242