"Chinoin" medicine. and chemical products factory r.t.
The company dates back to the first decade of the 20th century. This is when the then Alka Chemical Factory, a limited partnership named Dr. Kereszty, Dr. Wolf Chemical Engineers and Partners, was founded by Emil Wolf and György Kereszty, chemical engineers, in 1910. At that time, the company was mainly limited to the production of alkaloids (atropine).
The rental property in Petneházy Street, originally located in Angyalföld, was not big enough. The number of workers at that time was 15-30. The company became a joint-stock company in 1912. At the end of June 1912, the company bought land in Újpest for production purposes. The name 'Chinoin' was taken on 21 November 1913.
The outbreak of the First World War caused difficulties for the company, because instead of starting production to promote the pharmaceutical industry, as favoured by the founders, the primary task was to manufacture salicylic acid and acetylsalicylic acid (the active ingredients of aspirin). There was also a strong emphasis on the production of disinfectants. In addition, Chinoin produced large quantities of war gases (bromoacetone, bromocyanine) and the weapons made from them (gas grenades, gas projectiles). The company thus became so important during the war that it also played a role in supplying the chemical needs of the central powers.
However, in addition to forced production, they were able to find time for drug development. In the second half of the war, the first original, synthetically manufactured anticonvulsant drug, homatropin, protected by a Hungarian patent, hit the shelves. Novatropin, made from it, is the oldest drug on the market in Hungary, having been on the market for more than a hundred years. Distol, also produced at that time, was intended for the treatment of hepatic metastasis in various animals (sheep, cattle, elephants). This medicine soon became known worldwide.
The difficulty was that when the First World War ended, the company, which had been a war plant, had to adapt to peacetime expectations.
In 1926, it owned a number of other companies with a similar profile. These included the "Kastei" Fabrik Chemisch-Pharmaceutischer Produkte A.-G. in Karlovac and Sanabo G. m. b. H. in Vienna. He was also a major shareholder in the "Hungária" fertiliser, sulphuric acid and chemical factory.
In 1928, the company succeeded in developing the first technology to produce insulin from the pancreas of pigs. It was here that insulin was first produced, the second in the world.
The company's own development, created in 1930, was an antispasmodic material that provided 70% of the world's 70%. The factory was also an important centre for the production of vitamins. It was the first in the world to produce vitamin C from green peppers, in collaboration with Albert Szent-Györgyi.
In 1931, he started producing a new chemical product in the form of calcium arsenate.
In 1935 the company employed about 500 workers.
Wolf was forced to resign as CEO in 1941 due to the Jewish laws, and was deported in October 1944, from which he returned in June 1945.
During the Second World War, almost all the warring parties used the company's antibacterial product Ultraseptyl. The drug therefore became world famous, even sought by Soviet soldiers in the factory in 1945. The latter kept the factory under their control until the end of March 1945, and it produced medicines for the Red Army.
In order to relaunch the company, Wolf made several trips abroad to look for partners to export the company's articles. His efforts were unsuccessful and he died on his way home from Belgium on 15 July 1947.
The company was nationalised in 1948 and slowly emerged from the crisis caused by the Second World War and the subsequent unfavourable economic situation. In 1951, production of the first antibiotic, G-Penicillin, began. As a result of reconstruction, which began in 1957, the 1960s saw major developments and construction work. The company was privatised in 1991 and bought by the French company Sanofi in February 1991.
Sources
Éva Fábián 2011: 'We continue to work in his spirit'. Éva Vámos - Lilly Vámosné Vigyázó (ed.): Studies in the history of natural sciences, technology and medicine: Recent findings from the history of science, technology and medicine in Hungary: the development of natural science, technology and medicine in the long 19th century. Budapest. 59-63.
Gyula Halmy 1935:The jubilee of the Chinoin factory's quarter-century existence. Honi Ipar (28) 20. 12.
Ramóna Kovács: History of the Chinoin Pharmaceutical Factory, 1914-1945, HISTORICAL STUDIES XXXI, University of Debrecen, 2023
Vilmos Kovács:The participation of the Hungarian artillery and Hungarian industry in chemical warfare 1916-1918.Honvédségi Szemle, 1994.
Great Hungarian Compass 1910-1943/1944.
Press material 1910-1991.
Antal Antalné Sipos - Géza Bencze - István Bikki - Dezső Korbonits 2006: the story of Chinoin, an ever-renewing company. Chinoinoino, a never-changing story of Chinoinoino.
Founded in 1910
Founders: Emil Wolf, György Kereszty
Decisive leaders:
1912-1923 | Simon Krausz |
1924-1927 | József Benes |
1928-1934 | György Lukács |
1935-1943 | Bud János |
Principal activities: human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, hormone preparations, animal nutrition, plant protection products
Seats:
1914-1919 | Budapest V. Nádor utca 6. |
1920-1923 | Budapest V. Vilmos császár út 32. |
1924-1930 | Budapest V. Árpád utca 8. |
1931-1943 | Budapest VI. Andrássy út 2. |
Author: Róbert Szabó
Founded in 1910
Founders: Emil Wolf, György Kereszty
Decisive leaders:
1912-1923 | Simon Krausz |
1924-1927 | József Benes |
1928-1934 | György Lukács |
1935-1943 | Bud János |
Principal activities: human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, hormone preparations, animal nutrition, plant protection products
Main products are not set
Seats:
1914-1919 | Budapest V. Nádor utca 6. |
1920-1923 | Budapest V. Vilmos császár út 32. |
1924-1930 | Budapest V. Árpád utca 8. |
1931-1943 | Budapest VI. Andrássy út 2. |
Locations are not set
Main milestones are not set
Author: Róbert Szabó
"Chinoin" medicine. and chemical products factory r.t.
The company dates back to the first decade of the 20th century. This is when the then Alka Chemical Factory, a limited partnership named Dr. Kereszty, Dr. Wolf Chemical Engineers and Partners, was founded by Emil Wolf and György Kereszty, chemical engineers, in 1910. At that time, the company was mainly limited to the production of alkaloids (atropine).
The rental property in Petneházy Street, originally located in Angyalföld, was not big enough. The number of workers at that time was 15-30. The company became a joint-stock company in 1912. At the end of June 1912, the company bought land in Újpest for production purposes. The name 'Chinoin' was taken on 21 November 1913.
The outbreak of the First World War caused difficulties for the company, because instead of starting production to promote the pharmaceutical industry, as favoured by the founders, the primary task was to manufacture salicylic acid and acetylsalicylic acid (the active ingredients of aspirin). There was also a strong emphasis on the production of disinfectants. In addition, Chinoin produced large quantities of war gases (bromoacetone, bromocyanine) and the weapons made from them (gas grenades, gas projectiles). The company thus became so important during the war that it also played a role in supplying the chemical needs of the central powers.
However, in addition to forced production, they were able to find time for drug development. In the second half of the war, the first original, synthetically manufactured anticonvulsant drug, homatropin, protected by a Hungarian patent, hit the shelves. Novatropin, made from it, is the oldest drug on the market in Hungary, having been on the market for more than a hundred years. Distol, also produced at that time, was intended for the treatment of hepatic metastasis in various animals (sheep, cattle, elephants). This medicine soon became known worldwide.
The difficulty was that when the First World War ended, the company, which had been a war plant, had to adapt to peacetime expectations.
In 1926, it owned a number of other companies with a similar profile. These included the "Kastei" Fabrik Chemisch-Pharmaceutischer Produkte A.-G. in Karlovac and Sanabo G. m. b. H. in Vienna. He was also a major shareholder in the "Hungária" fertiliser, sulphuric acid and chemical factory.
In 1928, the company succeeded in developing the first technology to produce insulin from the pancreas of pigs. It was here that insulin was first produced, the second in the world.
The company's own development, created in 1930, was an antispasmodic material that provided 70% of the world's 70%. The factory was also an important centre for the production of vitamins. It was the first in the world to produce vitamin C from green peppers, in collaboration with Albert Szent-Györgyi.
In 1931, he started producing a new chemical product in the form of calcium arsenate.
In 1935 the company employed about 500 workers.
Wolf was forced to resign as CEO in 1941 due to the Jewish laws, and was deported in October 1944, from which he returned in June 1945.
During the Second World War, almost all the warring parties used the company's antibacterial product Ultraseptyl. The drug therefore became world famous, even sought by Soviet soldiers in the factory in 1945. The latter kept the factory under their control until the end of March 1945, and it produced medicines for the Red Army.
In order to relaunch the company, Wolf made several trips abroad to look for partners to export the company's articles. His efforts were unsuccessful and he died on his way home from Belgium on 15 July 1947.
The company was nationalised in 1948 and slowly emerged from the crisis caused by the Second World War and the subsequent unfavourable economic situation. In 1951, production of the first antibiotic, G-Penicillin, began. As a result of reconstruction, which began in 1957, the 1960s saw major developments and construction work. The company was privatised in 1991 and bought by the French company Sanofi in February 1991.
Sources
Éva Fábián 2011: 'We continue to work in his spirit'. Éva Vámos - Lilly Vámosné Vigyázó (ed.): Studies in the history of natural sciences, technology and medicine: Recent findings from the history of science, technology and medicine in Hungary: the development of natural science, technology and medicine in the long 19th century. Budapest. 59-63.
Gyula Halmy 1935:The jubilee of the Chinoin factory's quarter-century existence. Honi Ipar (28) 20. 12.
Ramóna Kovács: History of the Chinoin Pharmaceutical Factory, 1914-1945, HISTORICAL STUDIES XXXI, University of Debrecen, 2023
Vilmos Kovács:The participation of the Hungarian artillery and Hungarian industry in chemical warfare 1916-1918.Honvédségi Szemle, 1994.
Great Hungarian Compass 1910-1943/1944.
Press material 1910-1991.
Antal Antalné Sipos - Géza Bencze - István Bikki - Dezső Korbonits 2006: the story of Chinoin, an ever-renewing company. Chinoinoino, a never-changing story of Chinoinoino.