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Despite very modest resources at his disposal, Dr. Paul Janssen wanted to establish a completely independent research company, which he did in 1953. It was a modest beginning with very limited financial resources and considerable skepticism from outsiders, but his belief in his own capabilities and those of his colleagues was unshakeable.
"People thought my plan was impossible," he said. "I was very young, and part of my motivation was to show them that I was right and they were wrong."
And prove them wrong he did. Success came quickly, for the fifth molecule synthesized by Dr. Paul and his associates was found to have therapeutic properties. Many more innovations were to follow, in fields as diverse as gastroenterology, psychiatry, neurology, mycology and parasitology, anesthesia and allergy.
The first compound Dr. Paul's team successfully discovered was ambucetamide, an antispasmodic found to be particularly effective for the relief of menstrual pain. It was given the number R5. Launched in April 1955 under the brand name NEOMERITINE, it is still on the market today.
The first important molecule after R5 was R79, isopropamide iodide, which was introduced in 1955. This atropinic substance is still being marketed as an active constituent of the preparations PRIAMIDE-JANSSEN®, RINOMAR® and VESALIUM®.
In the 1960's, other compounds were discovered and commercialized. Among the achievements of this period were the synthesis of HALDOL® (haloperidol), the first antipsychotic that allows patients to be treated at home instead of in institutions, and FENTANYL®, still the most widely used anesthetic in the world.
These breakthroughs, and others, brought Dr. Paul's company to the attention of the American healthcare company, Johnson & Johnson, which was looking for pharmaceutical companies with promising futures. After several months of negotiations, a merger was agreed in October 1961 and completed in February 1962. A key element was the formal guarantee that the Belgian company would retain its own identity and independence within the international group. This element is retained today as Janssen Pharmaceutica still very much echoes the history of Paul Janssen. In 1992, Dr. Paul said "Every company in the group retains its independence. During the negotiations that led to this co-operation, the future and the protection of our company were uppermost in my mind. For me and my employees, the merger was rather a sort of life insurance contract."
Expansion of the company continued on a worldwide level. Janssen Pharmaceutica, N.V. became the official company name in February 1964. A plethora of successful compounds, such as FENTANYL®, levamisole, miconazole, flunarizine, etomidate, mebendazole, loperamide, cisapride, risperidone and many others, were discovered in Beerse, Belgium.
In the 1970s and 1980s, rapid growth continued. Plans were made to expand the company beyond the national borders. By the end of 1992, Janssen had no less than 34 foreign affiliates and more than 20,000 employees worldwide. In 1992, the company set up U.S. headquarters in Titusville, New Jersey.
China was one of Dr. Paul's passions. The country and its people always captivated him. In China, Janssen was one of the first Western pharmaceutical companies to be allowed to set up production facilities. After several years of intensive negotiations, an agreement was reached with the Chinese government. Janssen was given permission to set up a joint venture, together with four Chinese partners and took the calculated decision to do so in the interior, at Xian, capital of the central Shaanxi Province. In 1985, the foundation stone of an ultramodern pharmaceutical production plant was laid. Four years later, the first Janssen drugs for the local market came off the production line. By 1992, more than 600 Chinese employees were producing 100 million packages of eight different specialized Janssen products. In 2006, Xian-Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd was named "Employer of the Year" in China.
