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Reference.org
Upjohn
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<p>The Upjohn Company was an American pharmaceutical manufacturing firm (est. 1886) in <a href="/facts/Hastings%2c_Michigan/d9oSboqy">Hastings, Michigan</a>, by Dr. <a href="/facts/William_E._Upjohn/kgXFsQhy">William E. Upjohn</a>, an 1875 graduate of the <a href="/facts/University_of_Michigan/6e1Ea5xh">University of Michigan</a> medical school. The company was originally formed to make <i>friable pills</i>, specifically designed to crush easily, and thus be easier for patients to digest. Upjohn initially marketed the pills to doctors by sending them a wooden plank along with a rival’s pill and one of Upjohn’s, with instructions to try to hammer the pills into the plank. </p>