Farmitalia Explained

Farmitalia
Industry:	Pharmaceutical
Founded:	1935

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. Farmitalia occupied a position of choice in the world rankings of the profession, not only in Italy, but also at the world level with in particular the patent of Adriamycin, an anti-cancer drug qualified. From its creation, Farmaceutici Italia buys the Schiapparelli factory.^[2]

In 1978, Farmitalia was merged with Carlo Erba SpA, an Italian pharmaceutical company that had been founded in 1853 by the pharmacist, in which Montecatini had acquired a controlling interest in 1971. The merged company was called Farmitalia Carlo Erba SpA.^[3]

Farmitalia Carlo Erba was acquired by Pharmacia in 1993,^[4] then Pharmacia was acquired by Pfizer in 2003.^[5]

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

• 1960 Sulfalene^{[6] [7]}
• 1963 Daunorubicin^{[8] [9]}
• 1969 Doxorubicin^{[1] [10]}
• 1980 Cabergoline^{[11] [12]}
• 1984 Reboxetine^{[13] [14]}

Notes and References

1. Weiss RB . The anthracyclines: will we ever find a better doxorubicin? . Seminars in Oncology . 19 . 6 . 670–86 . December 1992 . 1462166.
2. Web site: http://admin . 2019-04-17 . SETTIMO. La Farmitalia, storia di un'industria . 2022-07-25 . Giornale La Voce . it-IT.
3. Web site: Bilotto . Antonella . LombardiaBeniCulturali . Carlo Erba SpA . 9 May 2017.
4. Staff. News: Farmitalia bought by Kabi Pharmacia. Ann Oncol (1993) 4 (5): 345.
5. Staff, CNN/Money. April 16, 2003 It's official: Pfizer buys Pharmacia
6. Baruffa . G . 1966 . Clinical trials in Plasmodium falciparum malaria with a long-acting sulphonamide . Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg . 60 . 2. 222–4 . 5332105 . 10.1016/0035-9203(66)90030-7 .
7. Per prior citation, the first publication: Camerino . B . Palamidessi . G . 1960 . Derivati della parazina II. Sulfonamdopir (in Italian) . Gazz Chim Ital . 90 . 1802–1815 .
8. Suarato . A . Angelucci . F . Geroni . C . Mar 1999 . Ring-B modified anthracyclines . Curr Pharm Des . 5 . 3. 217–27 . 10.2174/1381612805666230109215627 . 10066891 .
9. 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
10. Arcamone F, Cassinelli G, Fantini G, etal . Adriamycin, 14-hydroxydaunomycin, a new antitumor antibiotic from S. peucetius var. caesius . Biotechnol Bioeng . 11 . 6 . 1101–10 . 1969 . 5365804 . 10.1002/bit.260110607. 21897153 .
11. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/444169/o13295.pdf 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.
12. http://worldwide.espacenet.com/searchResults?submitted=true&&DB=EPODOC&ST=advanced&TI=&AB=&PN=GB%202074566 Espace record: GB 202074566
13. Cocchiara . G . etal . 1991 . 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 . 16 . 3. 231–9 . 1814741 . 10.1007/bf03189965 . 874781 .
14. First publication per prior citation: Melloni . M . etal . 1984 . Potential antidepressant agents. α-aryloxy-benzyl derivatives of ethanolamine and morpholine . Eur J Med Chem . 3 . 235–242 .