McNeil Laboratories

The company was founded on March 17, 1879 by 23 year old Robert McNeil, who paid US $167 for a drugstore complete with fixtures, inventory and soda fountain, as a retail pharmacy, in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, PA, USA. Robert McNeil was a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (University of the Sciences in Philadelphia).

In 1904, McNeil's only son, Robert Lincoln McNeil, became part of the company and together they created McNeil Laboratories in 1933. The company would focus on direct marketing of prescription drugs to hospitals, pharmacists, and doctors. In 1953 McNeil Laboratories introduced Algoson, a preparation containing acetaminophen together with sodium butabarbital, a sedative. In 1955, McNeil Laboratories introduced Tylenol® Elixir for children, only containing acetaminophen.

In 1959, Johnson & Johnson acquired McNeil Laboratories and a year later the company was able to sell Tylenol for the first time ever, without a prescription. In 1961 the company moved into its Fort Washington headquarters.

In 1977, two companies were created: McNeil Pharmaceutical and McNeil Consumer Products Company or McNeil Consumer Healthcare.

McNeil Pharmaceutical
The focus of McNeil Pharmaceutical is to market prescription drugs. In 1993 McNeil Pharmaceutical merged with the Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation to form Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical

McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals
In 2001 McNeil Consumer Healthcare changed its name to McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals. However, it was changed again and is now known as "McNeil Consumer Healthcare". The company markets over-the-counter and prescription pharmaceuticals including complete lines of Tylenol and Motrin® IB (ibuprofen) products for adults and children. The company is located in Fort Washington, PA, and currently employs 2,600 people. Annual sales in 2004 were US $2.1 billion.